 This program pays for itself with the e-mail function alone. The fact that I no longer have to print a document and courier it saves me both time and a lot of money. If all you use APO for is to send documents via e-mail, this program is worth it. If it happens to save you from having to deal with customers that are unhappy with you because you lost their data to some unknown person, that is a bonus. I use APO on all my computers and so should you. Jon |
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It Won't Happen To Me
It might not happen to you, but what if it does? You buy insurance just in case of fire. Encryption is a lot less expensive than insurance. A lot of other people thought it wouldn't happen to them either. Some of these people had some of the best computer security available, yet they still got hacked. Below you will read news reports about how the FBI, CIA, MI5, the Federal Government, banks, accountants, law firms and others who thought their data was safe found out the hard way that they needed encryption.
If it can happen to the CIA, it can happen to you.
Security Failures In the News
- ChoicePoint fined $15 million for not protecting consumer data
- Montgomery Ward subject to fine for not telling consumers their database was hacked
- Citigroup loses back-up tapes with info on 3.9M customers
- Govt. reports 788 cases of lost data
- Hackers get inside province's system
- MI5 loses a laptop
- Thefts prompt products that do more to secure laptops
- Afghans selling US army 'files'
- Privacy nightmare: Sensitive files on stolen computers
- Back-up tapes sold at auction
- Fidelity Laptop With Customer Info. Stolen
- Over 27 million people affected by identity theft in 2003
- Thieves steal data and leave the computers
- Laptop stolen from Ameriprise
- 40 million consumer accounts exposed to fraud
- Identity theft costs businesses nearly $50 billion each year
- Medical computers stolen exposing 185,000 people to fraud
- U.S. State Department loses sensitive information
- 2,900 laptops left in taxi cabs each year
- Top Secret information goes missing
- DNC loses 3 laptops
- CEO's laptop stolen from lecture podium
- Laptop stolen containing Olympic teams strategies
ChoicePoint fined $15 million for not protecting consumer data
The Federal Trade Commission said that data warehouser ChoicePoint Inc. will pay $15 million to settle charges that its security and record-handling procedures violated consumers' privacy rights and federal laws. The FTC said it had fined the Alpharetta, Ga.-based company $10 million and that Choicepoint would pay an additional $5 million that will be used to compensate consumers.
The company also is a defendant in several lawsuits and complaints arising from the breach, and several government agencies are investigating.
"The message to ChoicePoint and others should be clear: Consumers' private data must be protected from thieves," Deborah Platt Majoras, chairman of the FTC, said Thursday in a statement.
Source: HARRY R. WEBER, AP Business Writer
Citigroup, the biggest financial services company in the US lost their back-up tapes while shipping them to a credit bureau. The tapes contained personal information on 3.9 million consumer lending customers of its CitiFinancial subsidiary.
Source: CNN/Money, June 5, 2005
Wells Fargo had four computers stolen containing the Social Security numbers and other personal information of some borrowers. This was the third time in one year that computers with clients' information were stolen.
Source: LA Times, November 3, 2004
Montgomery Ward subject to fine for not telling consumers their database was hacked
An old name in retail was hit by a modern scourge - a hack of its customers' credit card numbers - but didn't inform the consumers, revealing how data breaches might be heavily undercounted even with new notification laws. At least 51,000 records were exposed.
Citigroup detected the computer invasion. By going through HomeVisions.com, another Direct Marketing Services site, hackers had plundered the database that holds account information for all the company's retail properties.
Notification laws in nearly every state generally require organizations that have been hacked to come clean to the affected consumers. Companies that fail to comply can be hit with fines or be sued by affected customers, depending on the state.
This hack might have stayed quiet except for online chatter detected by Affinion Group Inc.'s CardCops. In Internet chat rooms frequented by card thieves, CardCops spotted hackers touting the sale of 200,000 payment cards belonging to one merchant.
Along with the card numbers, their three-digit "security codes" and expiration dates, the thieves had the cardholders' names, addresses and phone numbers. The credit card industry's response to the breach varied.
In response to fears of identity theft, 44 states have passed laws that generally require organizations holding consumer data to tell people when their information has leaked.
By BRIAN BERGSTEIN, AP, June 27, 08
Citigroup loses back-up tapes with info on 3.9M customers
Citigroup said Monday that personal information on 3.9 million consumer lending customers of its CitiFinancial subsidiary was lost by UPS while in transit to a credit bureau -- the biggest breach of customer or employee data reported so far.
CNN, 2005/06/06
Govt. reports 788 cases of lost data
Federal workers at 19 agencies have lost personal data affecting thousands of workers and the public. Most of the data was lost or stolen, but in several cases it was accessed by computer hackers.
Stephen Ohlemacher, AP, Oct. 13, 2006
Hackers get inside province's system
The RCMP is investigating how hackers cracked the B.C. government's computer network. The revelation, the latest in a spate of embarrassing security breaches. "Apparently, the government found out on the sixth of February of this year that outsiders had been accessing the system for at least two months."
Miro Cernetig, Vancouver Sun, Wednesday, March 08, 2006
An MI5 agent has admitted losing a laptop notebook containing sensitive government information at Paddington train station. Security has been stepped up at MI5 following the theft, which has caused extreme embarrassment for the security agency and the government.
Thefts prompt products that do more to secure laptops
Recent thefts of laptops with sensitive corporate data have prompted more companies and individuals to snap up everything from locks to tracking software to protect data from PC snatchers. Laptop heists are among a wave of computer-security breaches in the past year, leaving thousands of people vulnerable to ID theft.
Fidelity Investments last week disclosed that someone made off with a laptop containing the names, Social Security numbers and other information for 196,000 current and former Hewlett-Packard employees. In recent months, laptops containing personal information have been swiped from Ameriprise Financial, Boeing and others.
As more people store data in a mobile environment, laptops and portable storage devices have become more attractive to ID thieves. And, in most instances, the data were not scrambled with encryption technology.
Once a laptop is stolen, cracking the password is easy. Crooks restart PCs using a Linux operating system disk and change passwords. Others use search engines to get software tools that unlock a password. "Anyone skilled in computer forensics can crack a password in minutes,".
By Jon Swartz, USA TODAY Mon Mar 27, 2006
Afghans selling US army 'files'
US forces in Afghanistan are checking reports that stolen computer hardware containing military secrets is being sold at a market beside a big US base. Shopkeepers at a market next to Bagram base, outside Kabul, have been selling memory drives stolen from the facility, the Los Angeles Times newspaper says. The disks reportedly contain personal details about US soldiers, military defenses and lists of enemy targets. They were all stolen from offices inside the base by the Afghans working there. Hundreds of Afghans are said to be working as cleaners, labourers and auxiliary staff at the Bagram base.
BBC News, April 12, 2006
Privacy nightmare: Sensitive files on stolen computers
The provincial government had more than 100 pieces of computer equipment and dozens of laptops and cellphones stolen last year, according to documents obtained by The Vancouver Sun. The government said all of those items were stolen, rather than lost.
- Twelve laptops and 77 other pieces of computer equipment were stolen from various school districts across the province and another 21 computers went astray at universities and colleges.
- Four laptop computers and three other pieces of computer equipment from the Attorney-General's ministry.
- Four laptop computers from the Public Safety and Solicitor-General's ministry.
- Three laptop computers and one other piece of computer equipment from the Health Services ministry.
- One laptop and 15 other pieces of computer equipment from various health authorities and hospitals, includingVancouver General Hospital, Lions Gate Hospital and Richmond Hospital.
Chad Skelton, Vancouver Sun, Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Personal data sold with BlackBerries
A government auction that sold 41 computer tapes containing confidential files has also sold hand-held organizers without removing sensitive information.
The data tapes sold contained confidential information on thousands of government employees and private citizens. Those files included information on medical conditions, refugee claimants and thousands of social insurance numbers and birth dates.
Jonathan Fowlie, Vancouver Sun, Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Fidelity Laptop With Customer Info. Stolen
BOSTON - A laptop computer belonging to Fidelity Investments and containing sensitive data on about 196,000 retirement-account customers was stolen last week, the company said.
The nation's largest mutual-fund manager confirmed reports Thursday that the computer held information on participants in Hewlett-Packard Co.'s pension and 401(k) plans and that it has alerted those affected, offering them free credit monitoring for 12 months.
The data included names, addresses, birth dates, Social Security numbers and other information that potentially could be used by identity thieves.
March 23, 2006
Over 27 million people affected by identity theft in 2003
The FTC recently released Identity Theft Report, available at http://www.ftc.gov/os/2003/09/synovatereport.pdf, showed that over 27 million individuals have been victims of identity theft, which may have occurred either offline or online, in the last five years, including almost 10 million individuals in the last year alone. The survey also showed that the average loss to businesses was $4800 per victim. Although various laws limit consumers' liability for identity theft, their average loss was still $500 - and much higher in certain circumstances.
Thieves steal data and leave the computers
A real estate brokerage firm in Vancouver, British Columbia was burglarized. What was surprising about this break-in was that the thieves did not focus on the expensive computer equipment. Instead, the thieves stole nearly 200 current transaction files, as well as the bank records and credit card files of the brokerage. This robbery underscores the value of personal information in a time of increased identity theft. Armed with this stolen information, the thieves could cause significant financial harm to the brokerage and its clients.
Source: Report from the Real Estate Council of British Columbia
Ameriprise Financial Inc. has notified about 226,000 people that their names and other personal data were stored on a laptop computer that was stolen from an employee's vehicle. Ameriprise is offering the affected current and former employees a free credit monitoring program for a year.
40 million consumer accounts exposed to fraud
Last summer, 40 million consumer accounts, primarily MasterCard and Visa accounts, were exposed to possible fraud due to a breach at Atlanta-based CardSystems Solutions Inc., which processes credit card and other payments for banks and merchants. Other companies that have faced recent problems with data theft or losses include Citigroup Inc., ChoicePoint Inc., LexisNexis Inc., Bank of America Corp., DSW Shoe Warehouse and BJ's Wholesale Club Inc.
Identity theft costs businesses nearly $50 billion each year
According to the Federal Trade Commission, identity theft costs consumers $5 billion in losses and businesses nearly $50 billion each year.
Source: By STEVE KARNOWSKI, Associated Press Writer Jan 26, 06
Medical computers stolen exposing 185,000 people to fraud
A California medical practice had their computers stolen and this exposed 185,000 patients to the risk of identity theft. In 2004, 9.9 million Americans became identity theft victims, costing the country roughly $5 billion according to the Postal Inspection Service.
Source: msnbc.com - Associated Press, April 8, 2005
A thief walked into a University of California, Berkely office and stole a laptop containing personal information about nearly 100,000 alumni, graduate students and past applicants. The University plans to advise the 98,369 people affected to check their credit reports and has set up a 1-800 number as well as a Web site to answer questions about the laptop theft.
Source: AP Business Writer: Michael Liedtke
"An IT security officer at an international metals manufacturer ... said ....an employee's notebook PC was stolen at a hotel, but the incident was reported only to the company's physical security group. The IT security officer learned of the theft by chance."We need to work more closely together on incidents like that. They [the physical security staff] have no idea what access the user of the notebook may have to our apps, nor did they ask him if he had any passwords in an open text file on his system. It was a major security breach through a lack of communication."
Source: Informationweek.com, February 11, 2002
The FBI 'lost' 184 laptops along with a number of weapons. At least 14 of the laptops were believed to have been stolen and one contained classified information related to two closed espionage cases
Source: USA Today
U.S. State Department loses sensitive information
What do the U.S. state department, the British military and the FBI have in common? Each of these security-centric organizations has recently lost laptops with sensitive information.
Source: Interactive Week Online, August 6, 2001
2,900 laptops left in taxi cabs each year
A survey ... reveals that a staggering 2,900 laptops, 1,300 PDA's and over 62,000 mobile phones have been left in London's licensed taxi cabs in ... 6 months with an average of 3 phones per taxi.
Source: TECS, August 31, 2001
"The Evening Times reported laptop thefts were on the increase as the expensive portable computers become more popular....Detective Inspector George Mitchell, of Stewart Street police station, said: It used to be video recorders but now it's laptop computers that have become the favorite for thieves".
Source: TECS, 8/31/01
Top Secret information goes missing
A notebook with top secret information on arms proliferation disappeared from the State Department.
Three notebooks were stolen from the Democratic National Committee's finance office in New York.
CEO's laptop stolen from lecture podium
The CEO of Qualcomm had his laptop stolen while it sat upon a podium from which he'd just delivered his speech
Laptop stolen containing Olympic teams strategies
Five notebooks were stolen from the Olympic Village in Sydney containing details about the New Zealand team's strategies