Despite the recent spate of embarrassing data losses to government and other organisations, encryption is still not getting the attention it deserves in many quarters, Chris McIntosh, chief executive officer of hardware encryption firm Stonewood, told Computer Business Review. In particular, few companies outside the military and government consider hardware encryption, preferring a software solution or not encrypting at all.
"The military and government have got the message that you have to encrypt laptops that go outside buildings. What companies are doing is forcing individuals to take the risk. If you haven't been issued an encrypted laptop, individuals have to make the decision to leave their laptop, but they need it to do their jobs," said McIntosh.
Most companies see encryption as an extra expense rather than an investment. Even with the beefed up powers of the Information Commissioner's Office, which can now impose up to £500,000 fines on companies in breach of the Data Protection Act, most organisations believe that it will never happen to them, said McIntosh.
Part of the problem is that it is generally other people's data that is lost on laptops. A mortgage advisor, for example, will take a number of personal details including address and salary from prospective customers, but they won't have such sensitive data about themselves on their laptop.
Another problem with acceptance is the perceived costs. Upfront costs of hardware encryption are higher than for software encryption, which puts off some firms. Yet software licences need to be renewed every year, making a higher end cost.
"The big problem with software encryption is the operating system. It's vulnerabilities in the operating system an attacker will use and no operating system can every be 100% secure, there are always holes," said McIntosh.
