By now everyone’s heard at least one story about a laptop computer was lost or stolen and contained sensitive data. A mishap like that costs a company tens of thousands of dollars in notification costs alone. There could be further damage, financial and otherwise, if the data is used fraudulently. Encryption won’t prevent a laptop from walking off but it does limit the consequences of data loss. If the data is encrypted, there’s no responsibility for notification and, equally important, the data can’t be used for malicious purposes. Encryption also makes the laptop unusable unless the operating system is completely rebuilt. The thief or the recipient of the stolen computer may even decide to return it or leave it where it can be found. Even if your property isn’t recovered, it makes life more complicated for the criminal.
The hard disks on all laptops should be fully encrypted regardless of the viability of the data. Otherwise, a technically savvy thief might be able to recover unencrypted data from temporary files, locate saved passwords, or undelete information that the user thought was long gone. Encrypting the hard disk significantly lessens the value of a stolen laptop to a thief.
Carrying data from place to place gets easier every day. Currently, CDROMs, DVDs, and flash drives allow us to put large volumes of data in a pocket or purse. Easy to carry, easy to lose, easy to steal. Once again, encryption puts the brakes on unauthorized use of lost or stolen devices by rendering the data inaccessible to the finder or thief. The use of Self-Decrypting Archives (SDA) allows the user to encrypt the data on one computer and decrypt it on another computer by entering the correct pass phrase.
CSULB selected a well established encryption product called Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) to safeguard stored data. PGP can be used to encrypt data on a desktop or laptop computer or on removable media. For more information, see this web page, http://www.csulb.edu/pgp, here you’ll find all the information that you need to protect your data from being compromised.