Companies are encrypting data on laptops in fear of the government.
Wednesday Jul 02, 2008
How ironic. After years of ignoring the problem of sensitive data stored on laptops, many companies are finally re-evaluating their policies and procedures about that data, instituting processes to encrypt or otherwise protect that data. Losing that data or having it fall into the wrong hands has always been a threat and has happened to many companies many times in the past. But by and large, many companies choose to ignore the problem, viewing the chances as too small to be worth the burden.
What has changed their minds? Recent news and a Supreme Court decision that reveals that the U.S. Customs can seize a laptop at the border with no probable cause, on nothing more than a whim. That's right, if they want to examine the data in the laptop, they can seize it and hold it indefinitely. The threat of criminals stealing the laptop has deemed too unlikely to worry about, but the U.S. Government seizing a laptop, well, that is another matter.
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