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New Zealand Data Breach: Fidelity Life Loses USB Stick, Encryption Not Used.

In the world of finance, there’s what’s called “systematic risk” and “non-systematic risk” (or unsystematic risk).  The latter is the type of risk that cannot go away, no matter how much you try.  It kind of reminds me of what IT personnel are facing when they deploy data encryption software in the workplace.  For example, […] read more

Protecting USB Ports: AMD Accuses Former Employees Of Stealing Documents.

AMD, Advanced Micro Devices, has filed suit against a number of former employees.  The claim is that they stole “thousands of confidential documents” (extremetech.com) by copying AMD secrets to external storage devices, and took these to rival NVIDIA.  Stunts like these are why external disk encryption is part of AlertBoot’s Mobile Security solution: don’t only […] read more

Automatic USB Encryption: Two US Power Companies Infected By Malware Via USB Drives.

According to techworld.com.au, two unnamed power companies in the US were infected when malware-infested USB drives were connected to corporate computers.  The recommendation put forth was to adopt new USB guidelines, “including the cleaning of a USB device before each use.”  The question is “how long will that last?”  How about a better approach, something […] read more

Data Encryption Breach Penalties: Greater Manchester Police Pays £120,000 For Lack Of Data Security Training.

The Greater Manchester Police in the UK has recently been assessed a penalty of £150,000 (reduced to £120,000 for early payment).  While many publications are claiming that this figure primarily ties to the theft of a USB stick, the truth is that the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) was fined for not having better sense. What […] read more

BYOD Protection: Dutch Chemical Company Attacked With USB Memory Sticks.

Cyber criminals have attempted to infiltrate a Dutch chemical company by “losing” USB sticks infected with malware in the company’s parking lot.  Gives a totally different spin to the term “computer trojan horse” and shows how BYOD protection and security can be maximized if employees are properly educated. BYOD: The Culmination of an Old Trend […] read more

Data Encryption: Samsung, LG AMOLED Secrets Leaked Via USB Memory Stick.

The big news tonight, in Korea, was that key technologies related to Samsung and LG’s AMOLED displays were smuggled out by employees of an Israeli subsidiary in Korea.  How did these intrepid yet arrested men manage to do this?  With a 4 GB USB memory stick that, last time I checked, cost less than $10.  […] read more

Disk Encryption: UK East Lothian USB Stick Lost, Over 1000 Students Affected.

I’m late to the party as this story is concerned, but I thought it bore the marks of something that needed commenting.  Earlier this month, the East Lothian Council in the UK alerted the parents of 1,075 students that their children’s information was lost.  A USB disk was lost by a council employee.  Data encryption […] read more

USB Drive Encryption: UK Rochdale Council Breach Affects 18,000.

Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council has been reprimanded by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for the loss of a USB drive.  The device contained personal information and was not guarded with data encryption software like AlertBoot. 18,000 Affected The missing device contained names, addresses, and council payment details.  Bank account details and other data were […] read more

UK Disk Encryption Software: Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust Loses USB Stick, 800 Affected.

The Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs East Surrey Hospital, had a data breach in the past year.  One might ask, so, what’s new?  Well, it turns out that 800 affected patients were not notified of the breach.  The information was not protected with USB drive encryption software like AlertBoot, either. Comes to […] read more

Disk Encryption Software: UK University Hospital of South Manchester USB Data Breach.

According to zdnet.co.uk, a medical student lost a USB memory stick, breaching the data of 87 patients.  The device was not protected with data encryption software like AlertBoot.  It also turns out that the student was not trained on the issue of data protection, although I have to point out that not educated does not […] read more