Quote:
Originally Posted by TheNorm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raistlin
TBH, provided data has been adequately enrypted it shouldn't be an issue where the data is being carried. To all intents and purposes, a properly secured/encrypted laptop should be nothing more than a dull grey paper-weight when turned off.
Besides, given how crap they are at keeping laptops secure would you really want them having VPN access across the Internet from their home computers to your data  |
Sensitive data should not be carried on a laptop (or CDs or DVDs) without adequate security measures in place. What is the justification for doing so? |
Did you read the bit where I said 'provided it's adequately encrypted'? If it is then that data isn't at risk. At that point, any justification only needs to be strong enough to outweigh the inherent risks invoved. If the laptop uses encryotion that fully protects the data then your risk is simply to the loss of the asset (if you ingnore the miniscule possibility that the encryption could be broken). Given the ever increasing need for people to work at locations other than their own, and the poor interconnections that I would imagine exist between disperate Government sites at a multitude of locations, the use of a laptop for mobile working actually becomes a sensible option as it enables important work (the defence of the nation for example) to continue unabated.
It's only idiots like this that lose, or have stolen from their car, their laptop that even cause this to become a public issue. By the way, we all seem to be working under the assumption that the details on that laptop are now in the hands of the 'bad guys', have the MoD said whether there was any encryption protecting the data yet?
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheNorm
The VPN access should be restricted to an authorised piece of hardware.
|
And what would that piece of hardware be?