Unencrypted Laptop Data Behind Latest Data Leak

News You Should Have Read Elsewhere

from the at-least-make-it-a-little-harder dept

Bank of America, no stranger to data leaks, says personal information of users of its Visa Buxx prepaid debit cards may have been compromised when a laptop — containing the data in an unencrypted format — was stolen. There seems to be an unofficial contest for the biggest data leak, but what about the dumbest? Unencrypted data on a laptop? It doesn’t take a security expert to figure out that might not be a good idea. There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of incentive for companies behind some of these leaks to really do anything significant to change their ways, while regulatory efforts seem to focused on punishment rather than prevention. The question of what constitutes reasonable protection is one that will come up time and time again in trying to assign blame (and liability) for these leaks. But it’s a pretty safe bet that keeping unencrypted personal data on a laptop wouldn’t be seen by too many people as reasonable.