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Don't let hidden data expose company secrets

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Does your organization use Microsoft Word for document creation and collaboration? Are you aware of the hidden application data that others could access? What steps have you taken to protect your company's private data? Share your comments about protecting your corporate data, as discussed in the Jan. 31 Internet Security Focus newsletter.

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4 replies

by howard_nyc

to quote the reg section: 164.312(e)(2)(i)

HIPAA SECURITY RULE LANGUAGE: Implement security measures to ensure that electronically transmitted electronic protected health information is not improperly modified without detection until disposed of.

it is a stretch to includ ethis issue under that heading but a clever enough lawyer could... does anyone know who at Microsoft who is focusing on it (HIPAA) so I find out what specific settings might need to be changed amongst our diverse user population to preclude this risk/exposure?

for that matter, all other commerically available products might well be advised to include an Appendix entitled "HIPAA compliant settings and changes and auditing"

Howard_NYC@yahoo.com

by hand

I agree that Word and other "office" applications can be a security risk. I also agree that the very same functionality that makes those applications useful is to blame. So that leaves folks like us stuck in the middle.

The next question is knowing that we cannot "get rid of Word", how do we prevent it from disseminating sensitive information. What settings are there in Word to make it "clean up"?
Are there utilities that can clean out the documents and make sure that there is no hidden information?

by technology

Search Microsoft for the RHD tool as a plugin for Word. Use it before finalizing documents.

BTW -SCO got caught in the hidden data trap. If memory serves me correctly, the press discovered that SCO removed a large bank from their Linux code lawsuits just before filing the complaints.

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