See your link here
Feds encrypting millions of laptops
2 comments- TAGS:encryption, government, laptop
- IT TOPICS:Security
I was encouraged when I found out that government agencies are finally - as a whole - acknowledging the serious increase in IT security breaches. Carolyn Duffy Marsan's article in Network World points out how government agencies have been obtaining hundreds of thousands of licenses for encryption software to remedy the situation.
I suppose it was inevitable that they'd finally address the issue; after all, the public has been getting really tired of hearing over and over again how one agency after another has lost sensitive citizen data. The numerous VA incidents, and the NIH episode spring immediately to mind - laptops are especially vulnerable. Because the losses are usually the result of theft, encrypting data will go a tremendously long way toward securing personal information.
While I applaud their endeavor, they're not even halfway to their estimated total of about 2 million laptops that need to be secured (so far 800,000 licenses have been purchased). At least they're saving the taxpayers some money; the article mentions that the DAR Encryption program is available to the federal government at a cost of around $10 - $12 per laptop - a real "steal" when you consider it retails at $125 for the rest of us.
Print
Email this
Digg this
