The campaign "Security is in your hand" is aimed at employees of the Federal Administration. Of course, a lot of information and tips also apply to users outside the Federal Administration.
Security is in your hands
Virtually all areas of life today are marked by computer science. This makes many activities easier for us, but it also harbours dangers. With your correct behaviour you make an important contribution to the security of data and infrastructure. Astronaut "Cybie" and his Trabant "Digi", the stars of the new awareness campaign for IT security in the Federal Administration, will give you helpful tips.
Where?
Main thing saved? Only if you also retrieve your data again.
Do you know how and where to store your business data so that it is always secure, complete and available to others? All business-related information is classified and stored in an orderly manner by the Confederation according to its need for protection. This creates a clearly structured data storage system that allows authorised employees to access and edit files. It is important that you assign other employees the correct authorisations needed to access your data.
When handling business-related information, all those involved must adhere to the following rules:
- Classify and handle your information correctly.
- Save business-related information only in the specified locations.
- Do not store any business-related information on private data carriers.
- Assign the correct authorisations needed to access your data (e.g. in the case of prolonged absences).
Classifying information
The following classification levels apply:
- No classification
- "INTERNAL" classification level
- "CONFIDENTIAL" classification level
- "SECRET" classification level
Deleting data permanently
If information is no longer required, it must be properly deleted or destroyed. Before destroying any information, always clarify whether it has to be transferred to the Federal Archives.
The correct way to dispose of classified documents in hard copy is to shred them. The Federal Administration provides document shredders for this purpose.
Electronic data is still readable after it has been deleted with the Delete key or the "delete" function (only information on the storage location is removed). For this reason, the storage location on external data carriers must be overwritten several times in order to permanently destroy the data. The SecureCenter program can be used for this process, which is also known as wiping.
Using external data carriers securely
Data on external data carries (e.g. flash drives, CDs, DVDs, external hard disks) and mobile devices is exposed to particular risks. This information is poorly protected against theft, loss and destruction.
Whenever possible, do not use local storage for official information; instead use the data storage systems on the federal servers.
However, it may sometimes be necessary to temporarily store files on an external storage system if they cannot be stored on a federal server. Use only federal data carriers for this purpose. In principle, you are personally responsible for any data on external storage devices.
Set up access protection for external data carriers (e.g. Windows BitLocker To Go). Keep them safe and do not lend them to others.
Even data stored in a cloud is not as well protected as data stored on federal server drives. The cloud operator can usually see the stored data. The data can be lost in the event of a technical problem or if the operator goes bankrupt. Remember that your cloud data is in the hands of others and, in the worst case, can be misused or lost.
Please observe the following rules:
Delete data on USB storage devices correctly
Whenever possible, do not connect any external data carriers to your system. However, if this is absolutely necessary, hold down the shift key the first time you use it (this disables the auto start function and no programs are launched) and use the right mouse button in the options menu to start formatting. This will erase all data on the storage device. Wipe external data carriers before destroying them.
Encrypt cloud data
If you use the cloud services of a commercial provider, we recommend that you use providers that encrypt the data BEFORE storing it in the cloud. This gives you additional protection against unauthorised access to your data. If the key is changed, re-encryption of this data must not be forgotten.
Delete the memor Encrypt cloud data
Smartphones and tablets are also external data carriers. If data on a mobile device is to be removed or the device is to be disposed of or passed on, make sure that the information stored on the device has definitely been permanently deleted. To erase the data on smartphones, you must use the reset function and any existing memory card must be reformatted.
Last modification 12.04.2022