Posts Tagged ‘laptop theft’

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PhyData LLC reports laptop containing data of 1500 patients stolen

July 4th, 2011
My BenQ Joybook 8100 showing the Dutch BenQ ar...

Laptop stolen from car containing patient data

Laptop theft

The  most prevailing fear among most  computer users is that of Laptop theft. No matter how much care you take, thieves manage to get away with such thefts.

Corporate America looses over USD 5.4 billion each year in cases of laptop theft. That means 12,000 laptops disappear every week from U.S. airports alone, and a laptop is stolen every 53 seconds. As employees get more and more mobile, this problem becomes more serious.  If you add to this healthcare privacy laws, then asset security can impact your business significantly.

The recent news of laptop being stolen from an employee’s car in Goodlettsville, Tenn. got security experts thinking if enough was being done in the field of data security.

The report

According to the report, PhyData LLC, a medical billing and management company  reported a laptop stolen from an employee’s car on May 7 at the RiverGate Mall. The laptop contained more than 1,500 patient names and their personal information including names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and medical ID numbers.

These people were patients with Advanced Diagnostic Imaging , Premier Radiology and Anesthesia Services Associates between Jan. 2009 and Dec. 2010

PhyData spokeswoman Joy Sweeney said in a statement that no evidence was found that any of the information had been accessed or misused. She further stated that the company had set up a toll-free help line with Kroll Inc., and is offering identity-theft protection services to affected patients. The company’s laptops are also now all encrypted and password protected

What Tennessean’s had to say

“Stolen from the trunk. That alone sounds strange when detailing where the thief stole it and wasn’t drawing any attention, from busting in the trunk. When the true story comes forward we will see the employee left it inattentive”

“Taken from the trunk? Was there signage on the auto? Why would someone open a trunk with so many other cars around and possible property in view? This IS NOT the whole story on this one”

“There is no conspiracy.  Usually, when the trunk gets busted it’s because the driver parked and then placed valuable items in the trunk, thinking that it’d be safer.  Someone in the parking lot — possibly thieves looking to catch people placing stuff in their trunks — watches the driver from the moment he enters the garage and, once they’re sure the driver won’t be back, go to work.  After all, if an item weren’t valuable, why would anyone go through the effort of putting it in the trunk.”

What AlertSec has to say?

Alertsec is the frontrunner in offering hard disk encryption as a fully managed service. We provide information security in a cost-effective & easy way

By using encryption software, you greatly enhance the laptop security as there is no way that the information is compromised if lost or stolen. A theft would simply be reduced to an insurance matter and cost of the hardware plus time to rebuild the laptop. A small price to pay compared to what can happen if you lose confidential or sensitive data. Our industry news provides a few examples of this.

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 trial.

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Posted in Computer security, Encryption, Identity and Information loss, computer security software, identity theft, laptop encryption, laptop theft

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Computer containing personal information taken from Dept. of Aging

June 24th, 2011
Benq laptop

Laptop theft on the rise

A Laptop/Notebook is stolen or lost every 12 seconds

How are laptops stolen?

90% of the Laptops are being lost/stolen during the travel.

Some are stolen at the work place, conference centers, hotel rooms, cars, airports and train stations. As statistics show, it is just impossible to be able to prevent theft to occur as opportunists are everywhere in our society.

Laptop loss not only proves costly to the owner but it also includes the loss of sensitive and creative information/data in it. It could be your important documents, presentations, credit card details, financial information or maybe a contract or legal document.

Here’s a story which talks about laptop theft and loss of valuable health related data.

Laptop stolen from Dept. of Aging

A laptop belonging to a PASSPORT case manager, with the Mansfield Area Agency on Aging, Inc., was  stolen on June 3 from his car in the Ohio District 5 region which serves counties in the Mansfield area. It contained  data of thousands of clients.

According to the agency  the laptop contained the personal health information on up to 43,000 consumers and the personal contact information on up to 35,000 related clients’ personal representatives.

In a news release, CEO Duana Patton said, “The Area Agency on Aging understands the importance of safeguarding our consumer’s personal information and takes that responsibility very seriously. We deeply regret that this incident occurred and we have already taken steps to ensure our laptops are properly equipped to secure personal information from unauthorized access in the future.”

The department is in the process of informing all of the affected users  by letter to explain credit protection options available to them.

Individuals can reach the staff for queries related to the data breach on the following number – 800-522-5680 extension 1234

Preventive measures

a. Always back-up your data on a server or back-up device

b. Use encryption software. It greatly enhances the laptop security as there is no way that the information is compromised if lost or stolen. A theft would simply be reduced to an insurance matter and cost of the hardware plus time to rebuild the laptop. A small price to pay compared to what can happen if you lose confidential or senstive data

Computer protection with Alertsec

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 subsribe for your personal 30-day free trial

Alertsec is the only service provider on the market that offers a pre-configured, ready-to-use solution which also includes 24/7 helpdesk.

Alertsec Xpress is powered by Check Point, the market leader in the field of mobile data protection. The software was launched 16 years ago and is the most robust software on the market today. You can read more about Check Point here.

Once you make your decision you can have the laptops protected within minutes. No delays with set-up, configuration, order or delivery - order now.

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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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Two Unencrypted Laptops and an iPad of NFL Employees stolen

January 30th, 2011
The new NFL logo went into use at the 2008 draft.
National Football League

National Football League Employee’s Laptop Stolen

If an encryption software had been used to protect the data, there would be minimal chances of Identity theft from the stolen devices. In a fresh incident, two more National Football League (NFL) employee’s laptops have been stolen at the Dallas Convention Center on Sunday.

The stolen laptops belonged to a private investigator and a security consultant based in California. Both employees were preparing the Dallas Convention Center for the NFL Experience. The convention center is hosting the NFL Experience, an interactive theme park with games, displays, autograph sessions and a memorabilia show. These laptops not only stored sensitive information but also not protected with encryption software.

Similar Incident Happened just two weeks ago

A similar incident happened earlier this month in Arlington, a laptop containing NFL and Super Bowl XLV credential information was stolen from a car parked outside a restaurant. According to Arlington police, several thumb drives and security credential artwork were also stolen with the laptop. These devices belonged to a NFL employee working on Super Bowl XLV.

In this case police arrested three people, but was not able to recover the laptop. In the current case Police do not have any suspects but believe that the above two incidents are not related.

NFL Employees left Devices Unattended

Dallas police Sr. Cpl. Kevin Janse said, “Someone stole two laptops and an Apple iPad that had been left unattended for about 25 minutes inside a ballroom at the location. The property belonged to two employees hired by the NFL. None of the devices contained information that would compromise or jeopardize the security of any Super Bowl-related events”, he added.

According to Janse “The devices contained no important security or otherwise sensitive information relating to the Super Bowl” and there was no security concerns related to the theft. The stolen devices were left unattended at a Starbucks kiosk for 25 minutes inside a ballroom.

Janes further said, “The laptop theft was nothing more than a crime of opportunity and that the suspects probably didn’t even realize who the owners of the property were”.

This is just a case of carelessness of NFL employees. It’s a dumb activity to leave important devices at an unfamiliar coffee shop for Twenty Five Minutes. The NFL said that theft didn’t compromise security and only artwork for credentials that was subsequently changed after the theft. We can only hope that NFL would be more active towards securing the data as this was the second laptop theft case in one month.

How Alertsec Xpress Would Have Helped

The above mention situation shows how much Full Disk  Encryption is necessary to stay secure and protect your data from the laptop thefts. 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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Unencrypted Laptop is lost by Doctor, Employed at Hull and East Yorkshire Hospital

January 22nd, 2011

Laptop thefts are the most common ways of security breach. Laptops get stolen from homes, vehicles and other common places are just a plain lost of security breach.

Stolen Laptop Contained Confidential Patient Data

An unencrypted laptop containing confidential patient data was stolen from the house of a junior doctor employed by the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust. Laptop contained the information of over one thousand patients including names, dates of birth, hospital numbers, as well as details about treatment received by 1,147 orthopedic patients.  The doctor loaded this information onto his personal laptop.

The laptop was stolen in November but the doctor waited for two weeks before informing his superiors about the theft. The reason of this, it is illegal to carry official data and he was not authorized to take the data on his personal system.

Apology Letter Sent to All Affected Individuals

An apology letter was sent to all affected individuals, which was signed by its chief executive Phil Morley. The letter said “I am writing this letter to inform you of the incident and also to apologise unreservedly for the loss of your confidential data. The doctor acted outside trust and NHS regulations in taking unencrypted patient data away from the trust and installing it on his personal computer.I can advise that the trust treats these matters very seriously and the doctor concerned is being managed in accordance with the trust’s policies and procedures”.
According to Hull & East Riding report, the trust temporarily suspended the doctor and scheduled a disciplinary hearing. But now he returned back to work because the result of a disciplinary hearing is pending.

Chris McIntosh, chief exec of encryption tools firm Stonewood, said “This doctor should never have had the opportunity to take unencrypted data home with him. Hull and East Yorkshire Trust needs to have more than regulations in place that simply shift the blame to employees”.

Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust

The Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust operates the Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham. This breach is the third incident of data breach to affect Hull residents in less than a year. The first case is the theft of sensitive data from A4e and the other one is unauthorized access of sensitive data by an NHS staffer.
McIntosh, said hospital bosses were partly to blame for the latest incident. “It is all very well organisations having regulations on data protection, yet if they can be easily broken by employees, whether knowingly or not, they become meaningless” he added.

Need of Data Protection

There are so many reasons why you should take precaution and encrypt all of your company laptops and USB devices. Just give a look on the recent data breach cases which caused financial loss and identity theft for the customer and caused loss of reputation and legal litigation cases for companies. Encryption can also avoid the necessity to send out data security breach notices. Employer should provide an encrypted and secure system to their employees.

Alertsec is the frontrunner in offering data security, pointsec, encryption, encryption software, data encryption software, computer security software, hard drive encryption, laptop encryption, full disk encryption and computer protection software.

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