The publication of U.S. government ‘cables’ by wikileaks has once again highlighted the problem of information leakage.
The frequency and scale of personal and commercial information leakage, through accidental loss and deliberate theft, has seriously weakened stakeholder confidence in the Information Governance capabilities of organizations, in both private and public sectors.
Such losses are often beyond the realms of inconvenience and embarrassment, carrying real risks to personal welfare, organizational integrity and National security.
However, despite the diversity of the compromised information and the points of failure, it is not difficult to discern a common theme – absence or weakness in basic housekeeping principles.
The casual observer may think that, while no expense is spared in the routine capture and creation of information, poor operational processes around the use and handling of information so easily undermine the very integrity of the enterprise.
And yet important as it may be, information governance is not just about security.
For example, the broader scope of information governance encompasses the need to ensure that the organization fulfils statutory, regulatory and contractual obligations for the creation, retention, dissemination and management of information.
Furthermore, stakeholders reasonably expect information governance practices to ensure that the organization is properly vested with timely information for effective management.
FREE COPY OF INFORMATION GOVERNANCE GUIDELINES.
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