Topic 4: On the move
Before you take information out of a secure environment ask yourself the
following questions:
1. What type of information am I taking?
2. Am I allowed to take it?
3. Am I familiar with the University's procedures on handling information?
4. Is it stored securely?
Different places different risks
When working outside of a traditional office space information immediately becomes
more vulnerable so take extra care to avoid unnecessary risks. Five potential risks
associated with working on the move are described below.
Laptops screens: Be vigilant about not allowing your laptop screen to be visible to
others.
Work tidily: Work with care to ensure no information is on display.
Check before you leave: Ensure you haven’t left anything behind when you leave,
then check again.
Confidential information: Should not be discussed as people might overhear, so pay
attention to who is around you.
Remove your pass: Make sure you remove your pass when you leave work, or are
travelling, as it gives details of your name and where you work, and could be
vulnerable to theft.
Vehicle security
Never leave laptops and paper files on display in your car. Ensure that documents
and laptops containing confidential information are removed from the vehicle before
you leave.
Working from home
You might feel that your own home is the most secure environment of all. However,
you still need to consider the risks. Detailed below are four potential risks associated
with working from home.
Document disposal: Tempted to just throw it in the bin? Don’t, shred it! Make sure
you dispose of paper documents just as securely as you would in the office.
Unsecured networks: Under normal circumstances confidential business is not
conducted using personal or home computers. Unsecured networks such as webbased email accounts (Gmail, Hotmail, BT etc.) are particularly risky. Always check
the University's policies.
Mobile phone: When dealing with confidential information over the phone, just be
aware of who might overhear, purposely or not.
Documents lying around: Get into the habit of keeping information discreet and don’t
just leave things lying around for others to see.
Topic 4 – Summary
Let’s recap the key points:
1. Working on the move entails benefits and risks.
2. Don’t discuss confidential information where you can be overheard.
3. Official University work should not be carried out using personal email
accounts. One of the consequences of doing so could be that your personal
email account becomes subject to FOI Act disclosure.
4. Consider the risks before you leave a secure environment.
5. Accidently disclosing confidential information can have serious operational,
reputational, legal and commercial consequences.
6. Report lost or missing information immediately.
7. Information needs to be protected when working from home.
You have completed Topic 4 and can now progress on to Topic 5.