Hi, We are Sean Owen and Teresa Doksum from the Abt Associates Institutional Review Board (IRB). Sean is an information security expert and Director of Abt’s Client Cybersecurity Center. Teresa is a health services researcher and chair of the IRB. We review large-scale evaluations of government programs in the fields of health, education, social welfare, housing, and criminal justice.
If you collect sensitive data (e.g. personally identifiable information, medical records, school records, data about a sensitive topic), tracking which data is going where is very important, but just as important is protecting it. Knowing which encryption tool to use isn’t easy, especially if do not have access to IT security resources. Below are some of the encryption tools that can help protect your sensitive data. They include solutions for the cloud, 1-person evaluators, and a couple for evaluators who are too big to work out of the home anymore.
To learn more about tools for securely transmitting, storing, or destroying sensitive data, attend our AEA Coffee Break Webinar: “Data Security on a Shoestring Budget” at 2 pm on March 20th, 2014. Click here to register.
Rad Resources: Encryption Tools to try or buy:
SpiderOak – Provides private online backup, sync and sharing so that you can instantly retrieve files from any device, anywhere. They offer 2 gig for free, and a pricing structure for more.
Symantec Encryption (formerly PGP) – Offers data encryption and protection for laptops, desktops, endpoints, email, mobile, and data in the cloud. Trial and paid versions are available.
Sophos SafeGuard Encryption – Protection for your data on computers, shared folders, removable media and even the cloud. Trial and paid versions are available.
Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org . aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators.