This particular Friday is anything but slow. The Australian is reporting that a naval officer with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) had his belongings stolen from his hotel room in Thailand by his nighttime guest, a..."ladyboy" (that's a direct quote, folks). Included in the stolen belongings was a laptop computer, and it looks like hard disk encryption was not used to secure the contents of that machine. To get it out of the way, it turns out that "ladyboy" means exactly what it appears to mean. And, it also turns out that it actually was a ladyboy, if we are to believe the newspaper, although the burgled officer was unaware of it. (I had initially assumed that this was some kind of word-and-logic twist to create a salacious story out of nothing...but The Australian is, as far as I know, a reputable newspaper. I must admit I was surprised the ladyboy stuff was mentioned at all...it sounds like the stuff a third-rate "journalism" rag would focus on.)
This particular Friday is anything but slow. The Australian is reporting that a naval officer with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) had his belongings stolen from his hotel room in Thailand by his nighttime guest, a..."ladyboy" (that's a direct quote, folks). Included in the stolen belongings was a laptop computer, and it looks like hard disk encryption was not used to secure the contents of that machine.
To get it out of the way, it turns out that "ladyboy" means exactly what it appears to mean. And, it also turns out that it actually was a ladyboy, if we are to believe the newspaper, although the burgled officer was unaware of it. (I had initially assumed that this was some kind of word-and-logic twist to create a salacious story out of nothing...but The Australian is, as far as I know, a reputable newspaper. I must admit I was surprised the ladyboy stuff was mentioned at all...it sounds like the stuff a third-rate "journalism" rag would focus on.)
Another item stolen from the officer was his passport, which may very well be the reason why we're hearing about this issue at all. The officer had to file papers with the Thai police in order to get temporary travel documents, which is how the newspapers could confirm the details of the incident (the ADF is not really saying much, obviously). If only the laptop computer had been stolen, it's quite likely that this would have been handled internally.
Another item stolen from the officer was his passport, which may very well be the reason why we're hearing about this issue at all. The officer had to file papers with the Thai police in order to get temporary travel documents, which is how the newspapers could confirm the details of the incident (the ADF is not really saying much, obviously).
If only the laptop computer had been stolen, it's quite likely that this would have been handled internally.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, an ADF spokesman had noted that "the laptop contained only the lowest classification and was fitted with appropriate security software to deny access to any information on the computer." I had initially assumed that this meant encryption software had been installed to protect the information on that laptop. Plus, when you consider that the officer in question was "an expert in the field of maritime communications and information systems" one would imagine that the officer has, at least, some type of nebulous idea about the need for security. However, The Australian notes that the laptop was password-protected, so now I'm not so sure. The information on the laptop was of low criticality, but nothing good could possibly come from the theft of a laptop computer that belongs to the military.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, an ADF spokesman had noted that "the laptop contained only the lowest classification and was fitted with appropriate security software to deny access to any information on the computer."
I had initially assumed that this meant encryption software had been installed to protect the information on that laptop. Plus, when you consider that the officer in question was "an expert in the field of maritime communications and information systems" one would imagine that the officer has, at least, some type of nebulous idea about the need for security. However, The Australian notes that the laptop was password-protected, so now I'm not so sure.
The information on the laptop was of low criticality, but nothing good could possibly come from the theft of a laptop computer that belongs to the military.
The hotel that the officer was staying at had an in-room safe. The use of this alone should have prevented the theft of important belongings. I know from experience that such safes have ample room for a laptop, a DSLR camera, a couple of lenses, a backup point-and-shoot, and assorted documents (The message basically seems to be "hotels don't want to hear complaints about missing items"). The officer didn't use it this safe. Obviously, safety was not at the top of his thoughts...
The hotel that the officer was staying at had an in-room safe. The use of this alone should have prevented the theft of important belongings. I know from experience that such safes have ample room for a laptop, a DSLR camera, a couple of lenses, a backup point-and-shoot, and assorted documents (The message basically seems to be "hotels don't want to hear complaints about missing items").
The officer didn't use it this safe. Obviously, safety was not at the top of his thoughts...
Related Articles and Sites:http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25763444-5013404,00.htmlhttp://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/adf-investigates-computer-theft-20090710-dfzi.html