Detlef Schmuck: “Anyone who pays too little attention to data protection and data security in the home office runs the risk of falling into the hands of hosts of warning lawyers and hackers.”
VPN trap: Virtual private networks do not automatically ensure data protection.
Hamburg, August 26, 2020 – Companies are well advised to prepare their corporate IT for the second wave of corona, says Detlef Schmuck, Managing Director of the Hamburg data service provider TeamDrive. He warns that many companies must above all strengthen data security and data protection.
TeamDrive Managing Director Detlef Schmuck explains: “During the corona crisis, many companies sent their workforces head over heels to the home office and connected them to the company network in some form or another in order to establish work capability. Data protection and data security often did not play a major role at first. In the meantime, numerous warning lawyers and the hacker scene have taken full advantage of this. It is therefore high time for companies to permanently set up their corporate IT for flexible home office workstations.
The TeamDrive boss warns of the “VPN trap“. Setting up a virtual private network (VPN) is not only costly and time-consuming, but does not by any means create a configuration per se that meets the requirements of the German Data Protection Ordinance (GDPR). “The VPN solely ensures that remote computers are connected in a tap-proof manner – nothing more. Data protection, revision security and compliance with the GoBD, which are mandatory in Germany, are not guaranteed by VPN,” explains Detlef Schmuck. As a rule, the better alternative is to use a cloud service that meets all these legal requirements, says the TeamDrive boss, and makes it clear: “According to the latest case law of the European Court of Justice, no US companies are considered for this, but only providers that have their headquarters in the EU.
