Information security company SearchInform has partnered with Condyn to bring SearchInform’s next-generation data leak prevention technology to the South African and African market.
The SearchInform data leakage prevention solution is about much more than identifying leaks and immediately fixing these, it is also about delving into the forensics behind it, in order to avoid data leaks but, more importantly, it is about stopping money leakage via different channels and most often in areas that we do not even give a second thought.

The benefit of this system is based on the principle: one cannot prevent what one doesn’t know about. So, the system also takes into consideration social media and other communication channels used on a daily basis in organisations.

Data leakage prevention in most businesses happens inadvertently, either by accident or neglect.

According to SearchInform, the moment an employee walks out of the door with his or her laptop, that is when data has already ‘left the building’.

What SearchInform and Condyn, are presenting to the market is the means to be able to monitor all communication channels, employee behaviour and control over technology resources and devices.

Businesses have the ability to track how communication equipment and devices are used, even if these are used outside the business.

“The software is designed to alert Fraud and Risk managers as well as decision makers when company data is sent out of the business, when, to whom, and why. If an employee erroneously sends out data, that can be managed, but if this happens more than once, the system can also detect this and an investigation can be launched if so required,” says SearchInform.

Obviously, this is done in accordance with labour law, in full compliance with privacy and other policy application. However, as SearchInform and Condyn point out, the basic premise is that employees should not be using work resources and devices to fulfil private functions.

One of the system’s distinguishing features is the architectural design. It prevents anything from being leaked – whether or not it is encrypted. The system is not linked to the Internet and even updates are done in a secure manner without opening any links into the Internet. The system is also PCI compliant which is extremely important.

The entire design is of value to any organization whether from an Information security perspective or even an operational point of view. The information gathered can increase productivity, structuring and much more in any organisation big or small.

Jorina van Rensburg, MD of Condyn, says the system is unique in that it offers data leak prevention but can also be used to strengthen various other aspects in the organization from HR to Finance. One example from a HR point of view is: if an employee is a misfit in a specific area in the business, by analysing the data you may be able to place him/her in an area where they would thrive which leads to retaining good resources and most often an increase in revenue but the opposite is also true, where you can quickly detect if an employee is wasting time and does not perform according to what was agreed on.

“It can help with regards to KPI and KPA management, how much time is being spent on critical business operations and how much is being wasted, possibly even on private matters that has nothing to do with the company, but for which its resources are being used. In tough economic times, this can be a huge saving. So, in that respect, we are emphasising its ‘money leak prevention’ value-add component,” said van Rensburg.

“We are extremely excited with the SearchInform partnership. The SearchInform solution is in a league of its own when it comes to fraud and risk management in organisations and I strongly recommend that C-Level should take risk management within the organisation more seriously”.

This is the message Condyn will be sending to emerging markets across Africa, beginning with South Africa.

“There is a major need for more effective control over resources, risk management and enhanced operations,” Van Rensburg says.