1
Trusted Strategies, LLC, www.trustedstrategies.com
2
National Crime Prevention Council, www.ncpc.org
3
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, www.privacyrights.org
Hard Drive Passwords Easily Defeated
It can be surprisingly easy to pull sensitive data, such as thousands
of names and social security numbers, off laptops that are thought
to be encrypted and secure. Recent data leakages (TSA, TJ Maxx)
prove embarrassing and costly, and illustrate the necessity for
robust security solutions. IT security research and advisory
leader Trusted Strategies
1
put the most prevalent hard drive data
protection solutions to the test—and show how easy it is to crack
frequently used technologies and get to valuable secrets.
The Truth About Data Protection
Companies may rely on password protection to safeguard data
stored on their computer’s hard drives, but in nearly all cases an
attacker can easily disable the password lock and gain full access
to the data on the drive.
Theft of sensitive information from personal and enterprise
computing systems is one of the fastest growing crimes in America.
2
Ameriprise Financial, Ford Motor Company, the Department of
Veterans Affairs and many others have lost millions of sensitive
records stolen from their laptop computers.
3
The costs in incident
response handling, legal fees, corrective actions, loss of reputation
and loss of customers can be crippling. Another daunting fact
is that company management can be held personally liable for
security breaches.
A significant and increasing percentage of corporate data now
resides at the edges of the enterprise on home office PCs and the
laptop computers of mobile workers. Wherever it resides, protecting
sensitive data is critical to an organization’s business practices
and overall success. Consequently, individuals and organizations
are struggling to find cost-effective and user-friendly ways to keep
sensitive data from falling into the wrong hands.
Can Your Computer Keep a Secret?
Why All Laptop Data Protection Methods
Are NOT Created Equal
Technology Paper
