The Department of Primary Industries in Australia has come under fire for losing "77 laptops or palm computers" over the past 4 years, according to theage.com.au. That's a loss of one laptop per every 2.5 weeks. Disk encryption was not used to secure the contents of the laptops, although password-protection was present.
The losses were revealed while the department head was answering to Parliament. The devices were lost between "January 2006 and October 2009, with a value of about $218,000." The laptops could contain sensitive information; however, the department head seems to think it should be alright because password-protection was used. There are a couple of things to note. First, with 25,000 staff members, the loss of 77 laptops over 4 years is not so bad. I mean, it's not great (not even good, to say the least) that sensitive information was lost; however, it means that there was a loss of 0.308%. That's a loss of 3 laptops per 1,000 people over four years, or less than one loss per 1,000 people per year. I mean, that's not too bad. I don't think that can be classified as "incompetence," as some have decided to call the situation. Of course, I am assuming that 25,000 staff members equals 25,000 portable devices being handed out, which clearly is not the case. If it turned out only 25 people were given laptops and such, and they had lost 77 devices in 4 years, that would be a calamity. Second thing to note: password-protection is anything but! Password-protection, while better than nothing, is a very poor substitute to encryption software when it comes to data protection. Indeed, it reminds me of a Donald Duck cartoon that I watched as a child, where Donald was the only private guarding a perimeter. While our feisty duck was the only guard about, he had rigged up some painted wood boards ("rifles") to give the impression than four people in perfect synchronization were guarding the perimeter. No one was the wiser because only the barrels of the rifles were seen above a brick wall. If someone were to get inside, though, there'd be little to no security. I mean, it's a duck with painted boards, for God's sake! He doesn't even wear pants! Likewise, password-protection only tends to give the impression of protection being in place. Once the laptop itself is stolen though, there is very little to separate the data from the thieves. Only a solution like AlertBoot endpoint encryption, designed to protect data, can help prevent a data theft or loss from becoming a data breach.
The losses were revealed while the department head was answering to Parliament. The devices were lost between "January 2006 and October 2009, with a value of about $218,000." The laptops could contain sensitive information; however, the department head seems to think it should be alright because password-protection was used.
There are a couple of things to note. First, with 25,000 staff members, the loss of 77 laptops over 4 years is not so bad. I mean, it's not great (not even good, to say the least) that sensitive information was lost; however, it means that there was a loss of 0.308%. That's a loss of 3 laptops per 1,000 people over four years, or less than one loss per 1,000 people per year.
I mean, that's not too bad. I don't think that can be classified as "incompetence," as some have decided to call the situation. Of course, I am assuming that 25,000 staff members equals 25,000 portable devices being handed out, which clearly is not the case. If it turned out only 25 people were given laptops and such, and they had lost 77 devices in 4 years, that would be a calamity.
Second thing to note: password-protection is anything but!
Password-protection, while better than nothing, is a very poor substitute to encryption software when it comes to data protection. Indeed, it reminds me of a Donald Duck cartoon that I watched as a child, where Donald was the only private guarding a perimeter.
While our feisty duck was the only guard about, he had rigged up some painted wood boards ("rifles") to give the impression than four people in perfect synchronization were guarding the perimeter. No one was the wiser because only the barrels of the rifles were seen above a brick wall. If someone were to get inside, though, there'd be little to no security. I mean, it's a duck with painted boards, for God's sake! He doesn't even wear pants!
Likewise, password-protection only tends to give the impression of protection being in place. Once the laptop itself is stolen though, there is very little to separate the data from the thieves.
Only a solution like AlertBoot endpoint encryption, designed to protect data, can help prevent a data theft or loss from becoming a data breach.
Related Articles and Sites:http://www.smh.com.au/technology/missing-laptops-went-dataway-20100215-o2wm.htmlhttp://www.theage.com.au/technology/missing-laptops-went-dataway-20100215-o2wm.html