Not too long ago, when businesses sought to protect trade secrets, confidential communications and the private information of customers, the checklist of things “to do” and “not to do” was pretty short. For most companies, it involved little more than locking file cabinets, making sure no one spoke too loudly during business lunches and ensuring old documents were shredded before they were thrown in the dumpster.

The checklist is considerably longer today. The increasing power and ubiquity of information technology (IT) has spurred on a virtually non-stop exchange of electronic data and documents among co-workers, partners and customers. During this month’s Security 360 webcast, Microsoft Corporate Vice President Mike Nash and Director of Product Management Amy Roberts of Microsoft’s Security Technology Unit, gathered with security and privacy experts from the industry to discuss privacy and offer businesses advice on how to reduce the risk of private information getting into the wrong hands, while continuing to realize the business value of anytime, anywhere access and exchange of information.

During the live 60-minute webcast, the experts urged businesses to gain a better understanding of both the differences and similarities between privacy and security. They also discussed the importance of strong policies and procedures to help manage and protect confidential information – in tandem with powerful Microsoft technologies designed to help businesses increase privacy and security.

The webcast aired Tuesday and is available on demand at www.microsoft.com/security360 along with past shows from the series. Microsoft began offering the webcasts in 2004 to help businesses leaders and IT professionals learn about the latest techniques and technology to help protect their PCs and IT infrastructure. Localized versions of the on-demand webcasts are available in nine languages.