Following the recent IT security breaches that have affected many in the UK and beyond, I felt is would be useful to remind clients of our IT security measures.
All our data ia manged remotely by one of the UK’s most respected data managers – Hosted Desktop UK. Their comments in view of recent events are as follows:
Data Security in the Cloud.
At Hosted Desktop UK Limited to ensure that your data is protected to the highest possible security level our servers are located in two of Europe’s most secure data centres – The Bunker in Newbury, Berkshire and in Ash, Kent. Both sites are accredited and certified to ISO27001 and PCI DSS security standards.
Physical Security
Both our sites guard our hosted systems and data from every potential threat or disaster that could compromise the availability and safety of your business critical data.
The facilities in the data centres are state-of-the-art, nuclear bomb proof data centres in Kent and Berkshire that previously served as Ministry of Defence and US Air Force command and control centres. Both have benefitted from millions of pounds of additional investment in power and cooling. This delivers an environment for your business data that is resilient and secure.
The data centres have control over security, power, cooling, access, maintenance, and do not allow unescorted access onto the data floors.
Virtual Security
- All transmissions over the Internet to and from your hosted desktop are encrypted. We use SSL encryption – the same as that used for online banking and secure payments.
- Additional protection is provided by enterprise grade firewalls on our network, with anti-virus software and intrusion detection on our systems to monitor and block any unauthorised access.
- Each customer’s data is partitioned in separate storage containers to ensure there is no possibility of unauthorised access.
- We use randomly generated passwords.
- The only people with access to your data, outside of your organisation, are our staff with restricted access provided to certain trusted software providers as and when necessary once authorised by the customer.
- All data stays in the UK.
With your business data never leaving the secure hosted desktop environment, there is no risk of it being stolen on a portable device such as a laptop.
Desktop hosting offers unparalleled data safety and security, which cannot be matched by a normal desktop PC set up.
Two-Factor Authentication
- Two-factor authentication provides an extra layer of security to your local and remote logins. We use your phone system to provide a unique authentication password to login.
The authentication process:
- 1. Enter username and password
- 2. Choose how to authenticate:
– One tap authentication – sent direct to your smartphone
– Generate passcode via free app – enter on screen
– Request passcode via SMS – enter code on screen
- 3. Your are logged in!
FAQs
Where is my data stored?
Your data is stored on our secure servers in Newbury, Berkshire and Ash, Kent. Each of our virtual servers is partitioned so that access can only be gained by authorised users.
Does my data leave the UK?
No, our servers are all located in the UK.
Does Hosted Desktop UK Limited comply with the UK’s Data Protection legislation?
Yes, we adhere to the Data Protection Act 1998.