Cyber-Ark cautions over EU data audit investigation

Cyber-Ark, the digital vaulting specialist, has cautioned against companies feeling confident about their data flowing over the Internet, after the European Union announced it is investigating Google for retailing data on its Internet search systems for too long.

The EU's Article 29 working party - a group of officials that advises on privacy policy - has today asked Google to justify the fact it keeps data on people's Internet searches for up to two years.

Calum Macleod, European Director for Cyber-Ark, said that, whilst the EU's investigation into Google's data retention practices is laudable, the global nature of the Internet makes it impossible to know exactly where and for how long data is being archived.

As in Europe, US corporations are closely controlled as to what they do with personal and private data, but elsewhere in the world, notably Asia and the Far East, there are far fewer controls, he said.

Companies that use the Internet for their communications need to take great care when transmitting company data across the Internet, whether via regular email or FTP technology. Commercially sensitive information can often end up where it shouldn't and, perhaps worse, even be accessible to smart searches using Google, he added.