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Laptop Encryption from Alertsec

February 8th, 2011

Laptop Encryption Software

Many organizations mostly save their important information on computers or laptops. Nowadays, laptops are overtaking desktops and that is the main reason why laptop encryption is becoming very important. There are over 400 million laptops that are operational on the market today and 3-5% of these laptops are lost or stolen each year and most of them are stolen within one year of the purchase date. These laptop thefts cause identity theft, privacy theft and the data breach. The result is sometime more frightening and shows how important it is to encrypt the information on laptops.

According to a study by Ponemon Institute, “the expenses associated to theft or mishandling of data cost companies in the United States an average $660,000 to notify customers, business partners and regulators about the information leak. Each company interviewed had lost an average of $4.7 million in payouts and lost business as a result to the incidents”.

Encryption is not Difficult or Expensive with Alertsec

Now, getting encryption software in your laptops is neither difficult nor expensive. Alertsec Xpress provides a very convenient service which enables users to secure valuable information on their laptops. Laptop Encryption is the only and the most secure method for the full protection of data stored on your hard disk. There are so many alternative methods like boot protection or Bios password but they are not sufficient without encryption. There is another great advantage of data encryption software, it secures your information even after your laptop is sold.

Follow Just three Simple Steps

Protection of your confidential or sensitive information is very easy with Alertsec Xpress. You do not require a technical person to install this software. You have to just follow three simple steps mentioned below:

  1. Register for your subscription or 30-day free trial of our encryption software.
  2. Download and activate Alertsec Xpress online.
  3. Your laptop is now fully protected by Alertsec Xpress.

For the installation of the encryption software you need to register your personal Alertsec Xpress subscription or 30-day free trial. After the registration, you will receive an email with a link to your Alertsec Xpress subscription or 30-day free trial. To download and activate Alertsec Xpress online just follow the simple guidelines in the mail and click on the link. Alertsec Xpress will initiate and install the encryption software automatically on your command. You can set your username and password to personalize your installation.

After the installation of encryption software your laptop will be fully protected by world’s most trusted encryption software, Check Point Full Disk Encryption for 30 days.

Keep your Laptop Safe with Alertsec

To keep your laptop safe and protect your data from the laptop thefts, it is vital to use laptop encryption software. There are many incidents taking place across global organizations which highlight the need of a data security and recovery software. By a mere investment of $13/month, the information can be secured with no loss what so ever. That is certainly a small price to pay compared to what can happen if you lose confidential or sensitive data. Alertsec Xpress offers a very good and easy-to-use laptop security service that includes more than the traditional software licensing model. Feel free to subscribe for your personal 30-day free trial.

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Alertsec is Offering Computer Protection Software for Mac OS X

December 26th, 2010
Mac OS logo
Support for Mac OS X Platform

Alertsec Xpress

Alertsec Xpress is used in all organizations that have recognized the need to protect their information. It offers computer protection software from Check Point as a fully customizable and pre-packaged data encryption software solution. Alertsec is the leading company in offering hard disk encryption as a fully managed service. We provide protection for all information stored on laptops and Personal Computers in an easy, convenient and cost-effective way.

Alertsec, a spin-off of Pointsec, has strong financial backing, long experience from encryption software and a security conscious organization. By using industry leading Check Point Full Disk Encryption (previously known as Pointsec) software, we have created a web based encryption service that radically simplifies deployment and management of PC encryption. In today’s scenario, information is an organization’s most important asset. As laptops are overtaking desktop PCs as the major source of computing and media storage, laptops frequently store an organization’s most valuable information. The only way to protect information stored on a PC or laptop is by using encryption. That is why laptop encryption is becoming increasingly important.

Service for Mac OS X

Mac Operating System is the world’s most advanced operating system. It is developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. It is a series of graphical user interface based operating systems. After Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X is the most active general purpose operating system in the use on the World Wide Web. Mac OS X comes with a variety of assistive technologies to help those with vision disabilities, including a built-in screen reader, screen & cursor magnification, high contrast settings and more.

Alertsec recently added support for the Mac OS X platform. We provide convenient and cost-effective computer protection software for Windows XP, Vista, 7 and Mac OS X. Our customers range is from single-user sole traders and consultants to large multinational companies with offices around the globe.

FileVault and Its Back Drop

FileVault is a system that protects files on a Macintosh computer. FileVault uses encrypted file systems that are mounted and unmounted when the user logs into or out of the system. Early versions of FileVault were slow and caused system to temporarily hang when used with disk-intensive applications such as sound and video editing. The performance of FileVault has been improved in more recent versions of Mac OS X.

There are also certain limitations with fileVault. While migrating fileVault home directories there must be no prior migration to the target computer and the target must have no existing user accounts. If all these conditions are not fulfilled, then prior to migration, FileVault must be disabled at the source.

Check Point Full Disk Encryption Software

Check Point Full Disk Encryption software is trusted and the global leader with more than 4 million users worldwide. The Alertsec Xpress managed security service is based on the Check Point Full Disk Encryption software solution. This software provides the highest level of data security with multi factor pre-boot authentication and the strongest encryption algorithms. For a complete end user experience, the entire hard drive contents including the operating system and even temporary files are automatically encrypted. This software protects corporate information from unauthorized access and prevents costly data breaches when laptops are lost or stolen. It provides comprehensive platform support and fast compliance with the highest security certifications. It is highly scalable and rapidly deployable as fast as 50,000 seats per month.

Alertsec securely managed 24/7 helpdesk which provides a truly cost efficient solution. Our mission is to continuously improve our products and services in order to deliver the easiest and most cost-effective managed encryption service on the market. We are a part of the Durator Group which has been awarded the highest credit rating available. We have offices in the US, UK, Sweden and operate in many other countries around the world through partners.

How Alertsec Xpress Would Have Helped:

In an incident which highlights the need of a data security and recovery software, the threat could have simply been reduced to an insurance matter by a mere investment of $13/month. The information would have been secure with no loss what so ever. That is certainly a small price to pay compared to what can happen if you lose confidential or sensitive data.  Alertsec Xpress offers a very good and easy-to-use laptop security service that includes more than the traditional software licensing model. Feel free to subscribe for your personal 30-day free trial.

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Privacy Breach: Stolen Laptops in Alberta Contained Health Data

December 21st, 2010
Alberta Province within Canada.
Privacy Breach in Alberta

In Alberta seven laptops or digital devices were stolen in the past month which contained unencrypted health, employee and financial information, prompting disbelief on Thursday from Alberta Privacy Commissioner Frank Work.

Work said, “It just makes me crazy, I think that’s just utterly irresponsible now in this day and age”.

What Type of Data was in Stolen or Lost Laptops?

One of the stolen laptops contained medical charts belonging to 2,700 pediatric gastroenterology patients participating in a study, which belonged to a researcher at the University of Alberta.

A missing digital recorder contained statements related to wildlife investigations, this device was stolen from Alberta Sustainable Resources. Another laptop stolen from the same department contained an employee evaluation as well as contact information of junior forest rangers.

A loss that worried Work the most was laptop stolen from an unnamed trust company had emails containing mortgage application information, credit bureau reports, social insurance numbers and other personal financial information of 135 people.

“In this case, that is the information that can really be used for an identity theft” Work said.

Two laptops were stolen from a speech pathology office, contained information about patients, all under six years old. Another laptop from a marketing firm left in a European airport that contained information of 27 Alberta employees. And the last missing laptop containing employee information that included social insurance numbers was belonged to a genetic research company.

Encryption Programs are Easily Available:

People should not put personal information on laptops if they do not have to, Work said. Data breach is very common nowadays but it is not difficult to protect data. Many internet security companies such as Norton and Symantec offer encryption programs like data encryption software and laptop encryption that make it easy for people to protect data.

Work said, “It is not like we are asking people to do anything incredibly difficult here, especially if you weigh that against telling 35 employees that you lost their RSP information, their employment files and so on”.

Police Statement on This Privacy Breach:

Police told Work that most laptop thefts involved criminals who tried to resell them quickly for $50 or $70 to someone who simply overwrote the files and did little with the personal information.

Work said, “You have a responsibility to your patients, clients and employees to encrypt their information when you are carrying it around with you and the law says you have to do that”.  “However the information is out there, which is still troubling”, Work added.

Work said further, “People who have been the victim of privacy breaches by private sector businesses can sue for damages under Alberta law”. Alberta law does not have any provisions for Work to penalize individuals, organizations or government agencies for privacy breaches. He can only work with offenders on remedial measures.

How Alertsec Xpress Would Have Helped:

In an incident which highlights the need of a data security and recovery software, the threat could have simply been reduced to an insurance matter by a mere investment of $13/month. The information would have been secure with no loss what so ever. That is certainly a small price to pay compared to what can happen if you lose confidential or sensitive data.  Alertsec Xpress offers a very good and easy-to-use laptop security service that includes more than the traditional software licensing model. Feel free to subscribe for your personal 30-day free trial.

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Another Massive Data Breach in University of Wisconsin

December 18th, 2010
North Hall on the University of Wisconsin, Mad...
University of Wisconsin

The News:

University of Wisconsin-Madison disclosed on last Thursday evening that a campus database of former students and staff had been repeatedly hacked since 2008. The database contained 60,000 pre-2008 university photo identifications that included Social Security numbers. University notified victims about this breach by mail in a letter dated November 30. The letter sent to victims and University Website declared that there was no evidence that anyone’s information was retrieved.

The Incident Website states, “We wanted to make you aware of the incident and let you know what we have done to prevent this from happening in the future”.

This is not First Time:

This is not the first time University of Wisconsin-Madison computers are hacked. A year ago, the University determined that computers in the Chemistry Department were hacked over a several year period compromising the names and Social Security numbers of around 3,000 people. The University did not detect the breach until October 26, 2010 although Wisconsin determined that the recent hacking incident began in 2008.

The major data breaches happened in 2007 and in 2008 involved Social Security numbers. In the 2007 incident, tax forms were mailed to the 171,000 Wisconsin taxpayers with their social security numbers printed on the mailing label and in 2008 incident, a brochure was mailed to the 260,000 recipients of state health care benefits with their social security numbers printed on the mailing label.

What Officials Say:

The advisory letter said, “The University apologizes to you for this situation, we take computer and data security very seriously, making consistent and strong efforts to protect thousands of computers located on the campus.”
School’s IT department said it has reviewed all security procedures and policies and deployed network intrusion detection applications and implemented a vulnerability identification program to better safeguard student and staff data.

Protection is Necessary:

As now a day, Identity theft is an easy practice, anyone with a computer, desktop publishing and a printer can counterfeit a Social Security card with your name and Social Security number. Counterfeit cards can be sold over and over again compounding the identity theft problem with victims. A counterfeit Social security card and a counterfeit birth certificate open the door to getting employment, a driver’s license and a bank account.

So, it is very essential to protect the data of organizations related to education, health etc. that uses social security or credit card details from the people. For computer protection and data security, organizations like this can choose from a variety of services like Data Encryption Software, Hard Drive Encryption, Laptop Encryption, Full Disk Encryption etc.

How Alertsec Xpress Would Have Helped:

In an incident which highlights the need of a data security and recovery software, the threat could have simply be reduced to an insurance matter by a mere investment of $13/month. The information would have been secure with no loss what so ever. That is certainly a small price to pay compared to what can happen if you lose confidential or sensitive data.  Alertsec Xpress offers a very good and easy-to-use laptop security service that includes more than the traditional software licensing model. Feel free to subscribe for your personal 30-day free trial.

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Intel-Backed Study By Ponemon Institute Tallies Laptop Losses

December 15th, 2010
Intel Inside Corporation logo
Intel-Backed Study on Laptop Losses in U.S.

An Intel-Backed Study by the Ponemon Institute found that 86,455 laptops were lost from the companies of U.S. over the past year. In this research study 329 U.S. companies were participated. The research group has estimated an average value to a lost laptop of $49,246. This includes costs associated with lost data and intellectual property, forensics, worker productivity and legal expenses. Based on that figure, Ponemon found that more than 86,000 missing portables were worth $2.1 billion.

Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of the institute said during a press briefing in San Francisco on Thursday that, “The sheer incompetence is overwhelming at times”.

How much loss happened from the missing machines:

Ponemon found that with about 3.68 million laptops assigned to those companies, the number of lost laptops in the past year works out to about 2.3%. But an average of about 7% of laptops are lost or stolen sometime during their useful life and many of those losses are easily preventable. About 25% of the laptops were classified as missing due to known theft, 15% categorized as likely theft and the remaining 60% were simply lost from the places like airports and restaurants, Ponemon found. According to the study about 46% percent of the missing machines contained confidential data and only about 5% laptops were recovered from the missing laptops.

Security researchers say that, “The cost of buying replacement laptops is the least of the problem, the biggest worry is losing sensitive information about companies, their customers and partners”. This accounts for the biggest chunk in Ponemon’s calculations about the value of lost laptops.

According to Kevin Beaver, an information-security consultant and author, Laptops are “consistently the greatest risk that I find in any given security assessment”.

He often gathered a sampling of laptops at client companies to see what sensitive information he could find. Beaver said that besides company files were stored on the device, the trove for a laptop theft included temporary files that users might not notice and often information that could be used to figure out passwords for logging on to corporate networks. Companies often spent heavily on trying to fortify their databases and other parts of their networks against intrusions, while paying little attention to the larger threat presented by lost laptops, he said.

Reason behind this study on Laptop Losses:

Ponemon found, that companies have been slow to adopt technical countermeasures. Only about 10% of the missing machines had such anti-theft features, with about 30% using a form of encryption to protect data files. The reason behind this study is Intel is promoting an anti-theft technology, which is built into some of its microprocessors and can remotely lock up a laptop after it is lost or stolen. Intel and security experts say it is simply putting a laptop out of sight in the trunk of a car and doing so before reaching a destination, so a thief can’t watch the user hiding it.

How Alertsec Xpress Would Have Helped:

In an incident which highlights the need of a data security and recovery software, the threat could have simply be reduced to an insurance matter by a mere investment of $13/month. The information would have been secure with no loss what so ever. That is certainly a small price to pay compared to what can happen if you lose confidential or sensitive data.  Alertsec Xpress offers a very good and easy-to-use laptop security service that includes more than the traditional software licensing model. Feel free to subscribe for your personal 30-day free trial.

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