WYLIE - Law officers from all across Texas could be at risk from identity theft because a database containing their personal information may have got into the wrong hands. - read more: wfaa.com
Sam Gerrans, Senior Technology Consultant at InfoWatch said, "Yet another case of a stolen laptop with unencrypted data. I mean: yawn. Result: 229,000 law enforcement officers at open risk of identity theft. The parallels are so obvious: secure your doors and windows and fit an alarm and you're less likely to be burgled (or 'burglarized' as the Americans would have it - although that sounds to my English ear as though the victim has been turned into a burglar). Or - by analogy with the wise householder - encrypt your data and sleep that much tighter.
"But so many organisations simply don't. And I think there are several reasons. Firstly, psychologically we have resistance to putting ourselves into a situation where we may end up locking ourselves out of all our own data. No one wants to feel that much of an idiot - even potentially. Secondly, data is just blobs on a hard drive. It may be valuable, but it just doesn't feel valuable. I mean, how valuable can something you can download or backup in a few seconds really be? Cartier diamonds or a Rolex. You can't very well save those to a flash drive. And they feel expensive and valuable in your hands. Somehow, that may be why when we're locking them in our safe we're never afraid we might forget the combination in the night.
"Data is no different. But it feels different. And that's the point."
Sam Gerrans welcomes invitations to write and comment in the English-language press on the information leakage prevention and detection market and related technologies: sam.gerrans@infowatch.com
