Most departments are failing to obtain the proper paperwork to prove that data has been sufficiently secured and removed from old PCs. Tom de Jongh, product manager at mobile encryption specialist SafeBoot, warns that this will eventually lead to disaster.
“The public sector needs to put strict security policies in place immediately to mitigate this risk.
Last week’s USB theft at Nottingham hospital and last month’s Newcastle City Council credit card gaffe show how real the risks are and it is the Government’s duty to ensure that any and all information pertaining to the electorate is kept secure" said de Jongh.
“The key to this is having a bit of common sense. Implementing an organisation-wide security policy which ensures that detailed supplier-checks are carried out, that all devices are encrypted, and educating users that all information stored on their hardware is encrypted, is of paramount importance to any organisation – private or public sector.
The Government needs to learn from others’ mistakes and ensure that they won’t be tomorrow’s headlines." he added.
UK govt putting public data at risk: SafeBoot supremo
By
Paul Fisher
on Aug 1, 2007 11:59AM
A new report from the UK National Audit Office has found that 70 percent of central Government departments are risking their own security by failing to ensure that sensitive data is being wiped from PCs before being disposed of, according to mobile encryption oufit, SafeBoot.
