Finco Merchandising specializes in purchasing bankrupt firms and disposing of their assets by direct mail. It maintains about 30 sales offices around the United States. Each of these sales offices does the actual direct- mail work within its own region. The central office in Atlanta maintains the customer database, and customers’ names are transferred from this office to the individual sales offices on a weekly basis. The transfer is presently being done through one of the major public packet-switched networks. It is suspected that customers’ names are somehow leaking out to competitors as a result of their being transmitted through the public network.

Required
Discuss at least two alternatives that might be used to ensure greater security.