[pchelpers] Article:Encryption a simple tool to protect data

STEPHEN MANNING
Associated Press
Posted on Sat, Jun. 17, 2006

ROCKVILLE, Md. - Reports of data theft often conjure up images of 
malicious hackers breaking into remote databases to filch Social 
Security numbers, credit card records and other personal information.

But a lot of the time, the scenario is much simpler: A careless worker 
at company or agency with weak security policies falls prey to a 
low-tech street thug who runs off with a laptop loaded with private data.

In the biggest case, the Department of Veterans Affairs recently lost 
data on 26.5 million veterans and military personnel stored on a laptop 
and external drive stolen from the suburban Washington home of a VA 
employee.

Security experts and some privacy groups say simple measures could 
protect data if a laptop falls into nefarious hands. They include 
encrypting the information so it's nearly impossible to access without 
the correct credentials.

"It is shocking how many of these are stolen laptops and that fact that 
the users of the laptops did not use encryption to secure the data," 
Beth Givens, director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, said of 
recent data losses. "If thieves read the newspaper, they can readily 
figure out that they have got more than just a piece of hardware."

More here:
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/business/technology/14843202.htm?source=rss&channel=siliconvalley_technology
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