An employee at a financial organization needs to transfer sensitive client data temporarily to an external hard drive for a work-related task. Which of the following actions should the employee take FIRST to ensure the security of the data?
Label the external hard drive with the owner's name and return date.
Encrypt the data on the external hard drive.
Verify that the external hard drive has antivirus software installed.
Ensure that the external hard drive is brand new and never previously used.
Encrypting the data on the removable media is the most effective first step to secure sensitive data from unauthorized access. This way, even if the external hard drive is lost or stolen, the encrypted data would remain inaccessible without the encryption key. While other measures are also essential, such as verifying permissions and maintaining custody, encryption provides the primary defense by directly protecting the data itself.
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