Four ways to stop common Sharepoint security issues

Sharepoint is an effective information management tool, but ignoring security issues leads to serious trouble. Failure to enforce tight security policies, schedule regular maintenance or customize the software to suit your business processes reduces its effectiveness. Learn to spotlight these common Sharepoint security issues so the software can lock down your data and protect it from the wrong people.

Establish clear security policies

Employees sometimes risk security by copying documents for those who don’t have Sharepoint access or commit other security breaches in the name of productivity. Others are unaware of the dangers of removing sensitive or classified documents from SharePoint. Institute clear policies about Sharepoint use and educate employees to understand the consequences of data breaches. Look at integrating SharePoint with a data classification tool that ensures that the classifiation of an object remains with it after it is removed from the SharePoint eco-system.

Designate an employee to oversee Sharepoint security

Some managers don’t remember or know how to update the system. Or, employees don’t have enough information about how SharePoint works and unknowingly commit a security breach. Ask yourself this, how many of your employees actually know who can access a document when they upload it to a document library? Appoint an employee responsible for Sharepoint security and make that person the one to go to for questions and concerns. He or she should also be responsible for regular updates, patches and anti-virus scans. A culture of security starts by making someone accountable for information security.

Restrict access

Allowing too many employees to have unfettered access to Sharepoint creates complications. As employees are newly hired or terminated, it can become a lot of work to keep group permissions up to date. At busy times, this may become neglected and result in staff members having access to critical business information that is outside their line of work. Have business units regularly evaluate employee access to sensitive or classified data and decide who needs it and who can do their job without it. It's all about balancing the need to know versus the need to share.

Customize Sharepoint

Without customization, managers simply won't get the best out of SharePoint. We've seen many clients install out of the box SharePoint and expect it to magically increase productivity. With customization and a solid information management approach, Sharepoint works effectively with your company’s business processes, policies and procedures. If you tailor SharePoint to meet the needs of your staff they won't take the risky approach of working outside your SharePoint environment. Our experienced team is available to adapt Sharepoint to meet the distinct needs of your business. For more information, contact us.