Safety Detectives: Please share your company background, how you got started, and your mission
East-Tec: At East-Tec, our primary goal is to provide cybersecurity solutions that enable both individuals and companies to feel secure in the digital world. We started this mission at the end of 1997 and we have been creating innovative and award-winning privacy and security products and solutions since then. The founders foresaw the significance of protecting sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands, and the necessity of protecting the privacy, identity, and confidential information of the individual using a PC.
SD: What is the main service your company offers?
East-Tec: We believe that even if one acts very carefully on the web, threats are always present. Since data is becoming more and more valuable, almost every application, browser, or software, in general, collects an incredible amount of our personal information. This sensitive information is stored on our computers and if they get into the wrong hands, we can face significant inconveniences as it can be easily used against us. One might think that if they delete their valuable or sensitive files from their hard drive, no trouble can happen. However, deleted files can be easily recovered with the right data recovery tools.
Our primary solution is east-tec Eraser. With the help of our thoroughly defined sensitive areas and erasing methods, you can be sure that all the personal data that are stored about you by the applications you use are deleted, beyond recovery.
SD: What is something unique that helps you stay ahead of your competition?
East-Tec: We put great efforts into perfecting our sensitive areas that define the specific locations where each sensitive and personal information is stored. As every software, like browsers, chatting applications, or videoconferencing applications is constantly developing, we have to keep up with the updates too. New files, sensitive locations, and features are introduced regularly in our supported programs, therefore, we find it very important to release major and minor updates as well.
As mentioned earlier, deleted files can be retrieved easily, therefore, we use erasing methods with which you can delete files in a way that it is impossible to get them back. You can choose from ten different methods, depending on how thorough of a wipe you want to perform. These methods range from quick, single-pass methods up to erasing techniques that meet and exceed government and industry standards.
SD: What do you think are the worst cyber threats today?
East-Tec: As data is undeniably one of the most valuable currencies nowadays, keeping it secure and problems regarding its lifecycle are the biggest challenges that are present. On one hand, it is very important to handle our data securely, so that it can not get into the wrong hands. This task is more and more difficult to accomplish due to our lifestyle and the huge amount of data we produce and manage every day. To keep this overwhelming amount of data safe, it is inevitable to use encryption tools, deletion beyond recovery, and a trustworthy password manager.
On the other hand, regarding data lifecycle, there is a worldwide tendency to regulate how, and for how long companies can store our information. The question of proper erasure has also arisen and the high increase of regulations forces companies to efficiently manage data lifecycle by using a multitude of tools.
Even though digitalization is probably one of the biggest revolutions in the world, it is a huge threat at the same time we can not, and should not ignore. To feel, and be safe in our digital presence, we have to combine the above-mentioned strategies properly.