University Business - September 2006 - (Page 75)

BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY Protecting Campus Data Portability can have its price. Here's how IT managers deal with stolen laptops. By Jean Marie Angelo L to all students who had been enrolled in A P T O P S ARE A MODERN particular physics and astronomy lectures marvel. They are portable, able to between 1994 and 2004. process amazing amounts of data, While all such breaches are serious, it is but, oh, so easy to steal. At least 600,000 especially problematic when Social Secu- laptops are stolen every year, according to rity numbers are involved because thieves a technology firm that helps protect data can use them to obtain credit cards and and locate missing machines. According make unauthorized purchases. to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Last year, University of California, 97 percent of those stolen laptops are Berkeley, issued a notification about the never recovered. theft of a laptop that contained data on That means a lot of data ends up in 98,000 graduate students and applicants. the wrong hands. The stolen laptop will The laptop, which had been left alone Several software companies specialize for only a few minutes, was taken from a in recovery and security, making products call back to an office restricted area, according to reports. The that either lock thieves out of certain files every 15 minutes to university paid a reported $2.4 million or destroy stolen data. Some recovery ser- reveal its location. in notification costs to those whose data vices even trace stolen laptops and help may have been exposed. recover them. The topic of data theft was interest- Given the proliferation of laptop pro- ing, but not really compelling, until pri- events, the laptop was recovered. grams in higher education, it makes sense vacy rules from California required dis- In the world of higher education, that IT managers are looking to these ser- closure, notes International Data Corp. there have been dozens of IT security in- vices to protect assets. analyst Chris Christianson. cidents, including one at California Poly- In 2003, the state of California ad- technic State University, located in the WAS THAT ON MY HARD DRIVE? opted legislation that requires all compa- town of San Luis Obispo. A laptop, stolen The recent headline-grabbing case of the nies and organization doing business there in July from a physics professor's home, laptop flinched from the Department to protect data and to notify those whose contained the names and Social Security of Veterans Affairs was notable, in part, information has been compromised numbers of 3,020 students. University because the machine contained 26.5 mil- by a security breach. Since 2003, 32 officials had to send out warning letters lion personnel records. In a rare turn of Finally: Get your staff on the same page DIGITAL EDITION Share the valuable ideas and insights of University Business! Have your associates request a free DIGITAL subscription. w w w. U n i v e r s i t y B u s i n e s s . c o m / D i g i t a l M a g UB digital 8th.indd 1 8/7/06 11:45:54 AM www.universitybusiness.com September 2006 | 75 BizTech.indd BizTech.indd 75 8/21/06 3:44:01 PM http://www.UniversityBusiness.com/DigitalMag http://www.UniversityBusiness.com/DigitalMag http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - September 2006

Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
Behind the News
Viewpoint
Marketing
Human Resources
Money Matters
Community Colleges
Summer Conference Report
Learning After Loss
Not Your Typical Textbook Advice
A Greener Attitude
Mobile Technology: One For All
Lessons in Landlording
Business Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business - September 2006