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20 Feb 2007
Nationwide Building Society could have easily and cheaply avoided the financial loss and reputation damage it suffered recently when one of its laptops containing the details of nearly 11 million customers was stolen, it was claimed today.
The organisation was fined £980,000 by the Financial Services Authority when the laptop was stolen from an employee's home last year.
Security company Wick Hill claimed that companies can easily and inexpensively protect against this kind of data leakage with encryption software.
Ian Kilpatrick, chairman of Wick Hill, said: "It really is very easy and economical for companies to protect data on their laptops using encryption software from vendors such as Utimaco.
"This can cost as little as £75 per device protected and will make it impossible for anyone stealing a laptop to decipher its contents."
Businesses are responsible for safeguarding personal information held on their systems under data protection laws and other regulatory requirements.
"With the ever-increasing use of laptops out of the office, their vulnerability to theft, and the availability now of low-cost security solutions, it is time for companies to take the leap to securing laptops," said Kilpatrick.
"By doing so, they protect key data from potential exposure and meet their regulatory obligations."
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Re Loss of Data on Laptop
It would be unheard of for an employee to take home a large amount of money to count and to bundle, so why is it easy for an emloyee to walk out with a laptop full of data about costomers which is of more value?. Also how valuable was the Data stolen and how vulnerable were we the customers.
Posted by: J.W.Gilmore 15 Mar 2008
The recent incidence of a stolen laptop serves to heighten the importance of keeping data secure.
It is perhaps fortunate, in this instance, that the prime motivation for the theft appears to be the actual value of the laptop itself, rather than the data contained upon the hard drive. So far the data itself does not appear to have surfaced, it is possible that the thieves wiped the hard drive before realising the value of the data. Banks have made significant investment in maintaining security, to maintain public confidence and their status of trusted custodian of an individual?s capital and assets. Branches are covered with CCTV and the latest security devices and firewalls and secure access and encryption software protect online banking sites from malicious attacks. The weakest link however is, and always will be, the most complicated system known to mankind ? the human being. Doors may be locked, firewalls of the most rigorous standards in place, passwords protecting sensitive information accessible according to mandate but everyday employees leave the building taking data with them.This presenting a challenge to security and risk officers. Rigorous policies and standards need to be enforced. Some firms perform security checks on individuals before they are able to take work home, checking the physical security of the home, insisting on lockable cupboards and storage facilities for laptops and papers. Permission based access policies prevent employees from accessing particularly sensitive information held on servers irrelevant to the performance of their duties. Remote, mobile users may find they are unable to access certain data that they are able to when on the office system. Some firms have even invested in sophisticated employee fraud systems to detect deviation from standard behavioural norms in order to protect the organisation from valuable data and information from walking out of the front door. Companies must both protect their data from the competition and fraudsters but also allow it to flow freely for effective decision making to those individuals charged with achieving corporate objectives. Data is both the greatest asset a financial institution possesses, and also its greatest liability. Loss of data leads to loss of confidence, customers and reputation ? ultimately impacting the bottom line.
Posted by: Mark Elkins, Strategy Manager for Financial Services, SAS UK 22 Feb 2007