Increasingly more and more businessmen are using laptops and BlackBerrys to access their information in Bermuda.

And with the advent of remote technology the demand is even greater for being able to work on the go.

But just how secure is that information really and what can be done to ensure it remains safe?

That is the job of Jody Hubert, chief technology officer for Calabash Consulting, the Island's newest IT consulting company, based in Bakery Lane, that specialises in security solutions and was on show at the latest Wired Wednesday event held by the Business Technology Division of the Chamber of Commerce at Gosling's Wine Cellar in Hamilton last month.

The company was highlighting its strategic partnerships and gave a short presentation on Check Point UTM-1 appliances, a unified threat management solution that greatly simplifies network security and Pointsec, a top data protection solution protecting desktops, laptops and wireless devices.

One of the most important applications for these security technology solutions is business, according to Mr. Hubert.

"Everything is concentrated around banking, finance and reinsurance and being on an island like Bermuda we recognised a real niche for providing remote access solutions," he said.

"It is all centred around when people and travelling with their companies, when they are accessing information securely and when they are traversing back and forth with their data.

"There are a lot of cases where people are losing laptops and PDAs (personal digital assistant) and they forget exactly what is on these and in terms of overcoming these problems and meeting these needs we recognise that there is a big gap basically in security."

Drawing a parallel with Bermuda's Atlantic neighbours, he said remote access security is currently a big issue in the US and a lot of companies are responding to that.

"A lot of companies are recognising this as well and are becoming accountable for equipment and particularly lost equipment," he said.

"It is the remote access end point really if their employees are going to be able to access that and get their data securely.

"If companies can provide that they have one of these security solutions, basically they have covered themselves."

In fact many of the solutions available are all about providing accountability and transparency with a number of checks and balances in place to ensure that, said Mr. Hubert.

"It is all about producing accountability for your actions and we are providing remote access and we are looking at more and more people travelling on and off the island and we want to provide the best solutions for the company profile," he said.

"We work with the customer to tailor the solutions to meet their needs and our partners, such as PGP and Check Point, have various solutions and the best fit and cost effective ones for them.

"There is a series of checks and balances when accessing remotely to the network."

According to Mr. Hubert 80 percent of data breaches are down to lost or stolen devices and with the rise in the use of BlackBerry, mobile phone and palm trios more and more potential breaches of company data are becoming prevalent.

"It may cost an individual $50, for example, for the loss of a device, but the costs and implications incurred by the company can be much wider," he said.

"It is because of the legislation that is being introduced for data protection that companies are becoming accountable for lost data.

"One company lost three laptops and put PGP in place to protect its data and are a lot more security conscious now.

"The worst case scenario is when people have travelled and come back in the office and the networks are having problems and they do a quick check on the firewall and you find there is a virus or spy sending your data back to a source in somewhere like Russia, for example, and that is because they have not got blanket coverage for virus and spies."

Ronnie Viera, chairman of the Business Technology division of the Chamber of Commerce, added: "We have had Wired Wednesday for three years now and we have had several presentations on different technology solutions and, of course, remote access is what many employees are using.

"When you extend it to somebody's home, you are effectively extending the company infrastructure to that home, so remote access security is critical.

"The statistics are quite startling as to how many laptops are lost in taxi cabs with company data on them and with data protection legislation in other countries and other a number of factors, the impact on companies' reputations are quite serious."

To find out more about remote access security or to get your own solution contact Jody Hubert on 296 2128 or 331 5639, email jhubert[AT]calabash.bm or visit the website at www.calabash.bm