Can we learn from our mistakes?

Data theft is happening so often that it's not even news anymore. The latest reported theft occurred at Buffalo State College in New York, where a single laptop containing 16,000 students' Social Security numbers was stolen. The story is detailed in this week's news section. Why can't we ever learn? It should be forbidden for any contractor to take data off-site when he or she is working on a project. It should be forbidden to download personal information onto laptops that could be swiped. Until there are ultra-secure procedures for everyone and painful penalties for failing to keep the data secure, we are all at risk, aren't we? -Judi