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More Disk Drive Destruction Needed.There Have Been More Data Breaches to Date in 2008 Than All of 2007
Disk Drive Destruction and Protection Would Reduce the Largest Data BreachsThe largest losses of consumer data are traced to either the theft or improper disposal of hard disk drives. Destroying the hard disk drives before they are given away or sold takes one of the components of theft out of the equation. Here is one example of the improper disposal of computers, this one by a governmental agency. A computer containing thousands of Social Security Numbers was found among a number of computers slated to be disposed of by the State of Kansas. This would have been a major violation of State and Federal Law. The discovery revealed the state needed to do a better job destroying the information before the computers are disposed of. That destruction can come in one of a couple ways. There are disk drive destruction companies who will come to your place of operation and physically destroy the disk drive platter so it can never be read again. Then the scrap is recycled. Another way to destroy the information is through sophisticated software programs that wipe out all the data on the disk drive. Simply “deleting” files does not work in that “deleted” files can quickly and easily be “restored” to the original file. The review found 7 of 15 machines inspected contained information considered confidential under state and federal laws. Disk Drive Destruction Policy Better Than Getting FiredSecretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson, has acknowledged three firings associated with the theft of a Veteran Affairs laptop computers, containing personal information on over 26 million current or former members of the U.S. military. Nicholson said that he has fired the employee who had the computer stolen. He said that other personnel actions were also taken. "The acting assistant secretary was let go," Nicholson said, "and the deputy assistant secretary has been let go." In addition, Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson on June 8 called for criminal penalties for VA personnel who fail to secure protected personal information. Protection of data by destroying the hard drive is a small price to pay to keep your job, as well as protection of the personal and confidential data of the veterans. Disk Drive Destruction Can Save Millions From the Effect of ID TheftIdentity theft continues to afflict millions of U.S. consumers, according to a study released in 2005. Many of these people had their data stolen while the data was on a hard disk drive. That hard disk drive could have been stolen in a laptop or could have been inadvertantly sold or given away with the data still on the drive. About 9.3 million people were victims of the crime the previous year, the study says, echoing a study at the same time by the Federal Trade Commission that indicated 10.1 million consumers had been hit in 2003. In all, one in every 23 consumers were victims that year. A disk drive destuction program would have been an inexpensive method to reduce much of the crime. The study also suggests personal data is usually stolen in bulk by virtue of data left on a llaptop or computer that was either stolen or given away. The data was not stolen by computer hackers, but people who simply bought used computers and then looked to see what was on them. Businesses should have a hard disk drive destruction program to protect its customers. The cost associated with securing a professional disk drive destruction program can be as low as $7.00 per destroyed disk. The cost of destruction iis cheap compared to the cost of bad publicity or fines imposed by the state. Read more about the study at: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6866768/ Disk Drive Destruction Mandated by Various LawsThe various laws mandating protection of confidential information make no distinction if the data is stored electronically on hard disk drives or on paper. Often times, stealing the data from a hard disk drive is a simple as buying a used computer. Often times, when the data is stolen from a computer, it is the confidential records of thousands or millions of individual. This theft of information has caused the enactment of various laws described below. Even though the federal government was the first to enact laws. The states seem to be imposing larger penalties and fines for the careless handling and disposal of confidential information. One careless way the data is handled is the donation or sale of computers which had intact disk drives containing confidential data. The essence of these laws is to protect the individual from the crime of IDENTITY THEFT by protecting private personal information . One of the first and most well known of the federal laws is HIPAA, which was enacted to protect the privacy of patient information.HIPAAHealth Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), was enacted in 1996 and includes provisions intended to safeguard the privacy of patient health records. For a full text of the SUMMARY OF THE HIPAA PRIVACY RULE from the Department of Human Services, available online go to: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacysummary.rtf. See page 14 of this document in regards to shredding information. HIPAA LINKS GLB (Gramm Leach Bliley)Gramm Leach Bliley (GLB) is another federal law with a much broader scope than HIPAA. This law was designed to compel financial institutions to "respect the privacy of its customers and to protect the security and confidentiality of those customers' non-public personal information." This language suggests that hard disk drives containing social security numbers, credit card data, etc should be protected when in use and safely destroyed when no longer current and usable. Facta (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act)The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 also known as the FACT Act was signed into law on December 4, 2003. The Act amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act (``FCRA''). The Act contains a number of provisions intended to combat IDENTITY THEFT and consumer fraud and related crimes. Specifically the act requires the protection and destruction of ELECTRONIC RECORDS CONTAINING CONSUMER INFORMATION. Virtually every business or organization that is bound by this law. |