81 Percent of U.S. Firms Lost Laptops With Sensitive Data

Eighty-one percent of U.S. companies reported the loss of one or more laptops with sensitive data within the past 12 months in a recent survey by the Ponemon Institute and Vontu. The companies reported losing such confidential information as customer data, employee records, and business documents. Larry Ponemon at the Ponemon Institute says this is because companies are unaware of where their sensitive business information is stored within the network. "Corporations are clearly struggling with the challenges of identifying and protecting sensitive data, as well as developing successful strategies for securing confidential information stored among the myriad devices that make up today's data networks,” says Ponemon. "Our findings point to the shockingly high risk to both business and consumers of undiscovered confidential data, but we believe that the data also serve as a compass to help point organizations toward effective solutions to this vexing problem.” (Computerworld March 2006)

Riskgroup has worked with many clients to better control the collection, management, storage of and access to sensitive corporate data. How effective is your information security strategy?