How To Mitigate Security Concerns In Offshore Outsourcing Deals?

Maneet Puri

July 07, 2009

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One of the prime concerns clients have about offshore outsourcing projects is about security and privacy. And justifiably so! Security is one of the top concerns when you transfer your valuable data to an offshore location and have offshore professionals working on that. Thus it is very important to make sure that your potential service provider has appropriate security infrastructure to protect your data.

Here are some tips to go about it.

Check Vendor Credentials

Offshore outsourcing involves transferring valuable business data to the location of your offshore service provider for processing and having offshore professionals work on the same. And if by chance you provide crucial business details to the wrong hands, it can result in severe damages for your business. Hence, it is very important to check the credentials of the company and its market reputation before you hire their services.

Use Security Technologies

Information is generally transferred electronically to the offshore service providers. Therefore, you need to use strict security measures and appropriate security technologies like Secure FTP, Encryption, VPN etc. to send critical business information though the internet. In addition,.your service provider should also use these security technologies while processing the information at their end.

Evaluate the Security Infrastructure of the Service Provider

Even if the service providers have security technologies, often it happens that the employees have no clue about security softwares like firewalls and anti-virus programs. This means that your business information is highly vulnerable to data theft or virus infection. Before you sign the deal, evaluate the security infrastructure of the service provider and see if they follow adequate security measure at their location. Some of the key things to look out for are security in office buildings, access to server rooms and so on.

Protect Confidential Information

There can be scenarios where the data that needs to be outsourced contains confidential information like credit card details, social security numbers, names and addresses etc. If this data is not handled properly or is misused it can lead to extreme security breaches and can be considered invasion of privacy. Moreover, misuse of this data can have further consequences. Therefore, make sure your service provider follows best industry practices regarding data security and practices the same at their location.

Control Access to Company Information

Several KPO services like CRM maintenance, profile management etc. requires offshore employees to access company data to further process it. This is fine except for the fact the only you will be liable for any misuse of sensitive information. It is very important to consider how information will be transferred between your company and that of your service provider.

Storage and Training

It is very important to consider the storage of data and evaluate the information sharing policies involved in an offshore outsourcing project. In addition it is also important to provide training sessions for the outsourced team so they do not contribute to any inadvertent misuse or mishandling of the outsourced information.

Know the Professionals

Ask your service provider how many professionals will be working on your data. Check if the employees can take information outside office premises or of they can access information from outside. Also ask if there are any subcontractors involved in the processing of data. All this determines the extent of distribution of your information and gives you insight about how to protect it.