Saturday, May 31, 2008

Encryption is necessary

Encryption is so powerful. I posted about wireless encryption previously and that is not its only application. You can encrypt files, create encrypted volumes, secure your online banking transactions, provide privacy for your personal IM chat sessions and so much more. However, not a lot of people have positive perceptions of it... I often encounter even IT staff trying to avoid it where possible.
I can think of a thousand scenarios and stories where encryption could have saved a lot of pain. Take Edison Chan for example... he could have averted the whole PR disaster if he had stored his private "collection" in encrypted form. My friend, Figo, also had a recent incident where she thought she lost her flash drives and was upset because it contained important files. Marks & Spencer had a laptop containing employees' pension details stolen by a sub-contractor.
I'm getting side-tracked but it surprises me that a lot of people still do not take the threat of insiders seriously. People... insiders including sub-contractors have physical access to premises and more access to your corporate assets. Wake up.
Back to the topic, encryption is your friend. As you may have guessed, I have a ready-made guide on encrypting your important and personal files. Email me.

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