"ComplianceSpeak"

Nee Naah, Nee Naah, Nee Naah!

No doubt there will be a lot of  'ambulance chasing' in the next few weeks of data encryption sales; and I'm not  one to look a 'gift horse in the mouth'. 

As HMRC and the government reel from  the Child Benefit data loss disclosure, I'm sure they will receive a great many  'have we got a solution for you!' offers; perhaps ours will be one of  them! So why the reluctance to encrypt  data? Had 'those two discs' that went missing in the internal post been  encrypted, this whole story would have been akin to a  damp sparkler on a wet  bonfire night.

I'd like to suggest that it's because the business  case for 'on-the-fly' whole disc encryption simply has not been  made.

"It's too difficult, too expensive,  users won't use it!" RUBBISH.

That's like saying it's too difficult to stay in  touch with relatives overseas; the world's moved on, VoIP has  sorted out the distant 'relies'. Similarly, the World's moved on in the field of  encryption technology and ISVs like Mobile Armor have seriously addressed the  barriers to encryption adoption.

Take a look at how it can be achieved ... tomorrow could be  your day in the media spotlight!

Increasing surveillance bad for privacy

THE Royal Academy of Engineering has published a "challenging report" that questions the growth of surveillance technology and the way in which this technology impacts our quality of life. How, for example, can citizens buy ordinary goods and services without having to prove who we are, and divulge private information to Governments and businesses.

In the report, "Dilemmas of Privacy and Surveillance - challenges of technological change", the academy looks at the far reaching implications of surveillance and data management technologies.

"Engineers' knowledge and experience can help to 'design in privacy' into new IT developments," says Professor Gilbert. "But first, the government and corporations must recognise that they put at risk the trust of citizens and customers if they do not treat privacy issues seriously."

To download a copy of the report, follow this link.

"Pod Slurping"

In an article for CNET News.com Abe Usher describes how he created an application that runs on an iPod and is capable of downloading business related documents (Word, Excel, PDFs etc.) at a rate of 100Mb per minute!

"To the naked eye, somebody doing this would look like any other employee listening to their iPod at their desk. ... the person stealing data need not even have access to a keyboard but can simply plug into a USB port on any active machine."

The article goes on to point out that some of the greatest data risks in organisations now com from the INSIDE!

"[how many businesses] have realized it's possible to plug in an iPod and just walk away with the whole business in a matter of minutes."

Make sure you have the misuse and theft of corporate data as in your Acceptable Use Policy!

And make sure you read our article on the Information Commissioner and his Big(ger) Teeth