The theft of a laptop from a Lincoln playgroup employee
highlights the risk of keeping personal details on unencrypted
discs, says supplierOrigin Storage.
Although the thief was convicted after being identified by a
witness, the laptop is still missing, according to the
Lincolnshire Echo.
The laptop did not contain personal information about the
children attending the playgroup, but it did contain financial
information.
"Even if the hard drive of the notebook is reformatted, the data
can be retrieved by anyone with technical knowledge," said Andy
Cordial, managing director of
Origin.
In most cases, thieves attempt only a cursory deletion of
documents on a laptop before selling it on, he said.
According to Cordial, there is no longer any excuse for not
encrypting data stored on laptops as the associated costs have
fallen significantly.