Editor's Corner

Aside from the constant release of new Microsoft patches, one topic I find myself writing about frequently these past few months is the increasing number of laptop thefts and data robberies, both in the pubic and private sector. And according to a new study, this newsletter could be chock-full of such news, as 81 percent of US firms have admitted that they've lost confidential data at one point--due a missing or stolen laptop. The survey, conducted by Ponemon Institute and Vontu, calls the issue "pervasive." I'd call it astounding. What's even more frightening is that oftentimes, no one can even account for exactly what data is stored on a device that has gone missing. Check out these statistics and tell me they don't scare you a bit too: 64 percent of those polled have never conducted an inventory of either sensitive consumer data or employee data. And as a news item in this issue notes, data stored on those handy USB flash drives isn't too secure either. Over 53 percent admit they wouldn't be able to determine what sensitive data was actually housed on those devices. Yikes. I don't think there's any better time than the present to get laptop security policies in place and inventory efforts into action.- Judy