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It’s hard to make it through an entire workday without hearing the term “information security.” Everyone says it’s important, but what steps do large enterprises actually take to safeguard their data? Have a look at one agency in the Agriculture Department that takes infosec very seriously indeed.

Three summers ago, the magazine Farm Journal was granted permission to spend the night in ‘lockup’ at the headquarters of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) for “an up-close look at the meticulous steps taken to protect the report numbers that drive (agricultural) market prices around the world.”

According to Farm Journal, some of the physical, electronic and other measures NASS employs to safeguard data destined for publications like the monthly Crop Production Report include:

• Armed guards are posted outside locked doors to the area where NASS statisticians compile their reports.
• No one gains admittance to the area without clearance and a special pass.
• Window shades are installed in metal tracks and are fixed shut with a wire and lead clasp.
• Telephone and computer lines are disconnected once the doors are locked.
• After the lockup area is secured, state and national data compiled for the reports is decrypted.
• Once inside, the statisticians cannot exit until their report is publicly released.

A reprint of the Farm Journal article can be found on the NASS website (it’s only three pages long – and well worth reading).

We like the back-to-basics approach and the well-defined processes, applied with great rigor and consistency. We like the importance placed on the core data, as indicated by the precautions taken to protect its integrity. We like the fact that the most senior person signs off on each report. And we wonder: how many enterprises in the homeland security community go to these lengths to protect their information?

Sound information security practices never go out of style: NASS has employed most of the measures described above for over 100 years.

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