“Many employees disable the encryption solutions on their laptops, putting their employers at risk for data breaches, according to a study by Absolute Software Corp. and The Ponemon Institute.”
The study specifies “Corporate America” is being affected by the behavior of employees who destabilize data protection. This behavior is resulting in encryption not being enough to protect laptops and other mobile devices that have sensitive information stored on them. The number one source of data loss is from lost or stolen laptops. When a laptop has been stolen, 3 out of 4 companies will incur a data breach.
Necessary safety measures are not being taken by business owners to secure their laptops. Some business managers even deactivate their laptops’ encryption making themselves and their clients more vulnerable to identity theft. Additional layers of security can be utilized to identify data that has been accessed, even delete sensitive information remotely, and find a lost or stolen laptop. Employers can not afford to rely on the behavior of their employees nor encryption technology to provide the data protection they need according to this study.
Source: Absolute/Ponemon
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2009/04/27/99982.htm
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has extended by at least four months a deadline for businesses to electronically encrypt digital records of their customers’ personal information.
The law follows a several years-long string of high profile data breaches by both private and government entities, the majority of which involved the theft of portable devices, such as laptops.
Source: Insurance Journal 11-20-08
