Balance is needed with data security

12 July 2010

The royals have them, most celebrities have a couple and given the way Fabio Capello and his merry men capitulated I expect a few of our England boys to invest in one - I’m talking about security guards.

Of course, guards are not just to protect celebrities from nutters. If you have something someone else wants, they’re a pretty useful barrier. You wouldn’t walk down the Old Kent Road with the Millennium Star diamond in your pocket without some muscle by your side.

When you have a valuable asset you must protect it as rigorously as possible, and everyone in the mortgage and property industry possesses and transfers what fraudsters see as a priceless asset - customer information.

So whether you’re involved in valuations, asset management or conveyancing, data security should be top of your agenda.

The more secure your processes are the less likely it is that fraudsters will gain traction with your data. But the service you use must strike a balance between security, usability and cost.

It’s particularly important for valuers and conveyancers to maintain healthy volumes of work to maximise revenue streams so they must use systems that improve efficiency without compromising security.

While security measures must be easy to use they should not reduce usability or scalability.

It’s possible to achieve this balance. And while few in the mortgage industry require Mr T by their side many will take comfort in knowing their data is secure.

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