Ponemon Studies Off-Network Devices

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. and COLUMBUS, Ohio -- On August 7, financial services firm Merrill Lynch reported the theft of a laptop computer from its New Jersey corporate office – a computer containing sensitive personal and financial information, including Social Security numbers, for 33,000 of its employees. Such breaches of confidential information have become routine news for one simple reason: though sparing no expense to guard the security of their networks, corporations often fail to protect data on devices that are disconnected from the network.

According to a new study by the Ponemon Institute, 73 percent of corporations experienced the loss or theft of a data-bearing asset in the last 24 months, yet those same organizations report limited efforts to manage this vulnerability. The new Ponemon report, National Survey: The Insecurity of Off-Network Security, will be discussed in detail today by study author Dr. Larry Ponemon, founder and chairman, Ponemon Institute, and study sponsor, Robert Houghton, president, Redemtech, during the Privacy Symposium at Harvard University.

Among the National Survey: The Insecurity of Off-Network Security’s significant results: