VA Benefits From Increased Security Measures |
Written by Rebecca Mints |
Wednesday, 05 March 2008 08:35 |
Another laptop was stolen from a Veterans Affairs Department employee, but because of the vamped up security measures taken on by the VA their data integrity was not compromised. They also knew exactly what equipment was missing. The laptop was stolen from a VA's Austin Corporate Data Center employee's apartment last month. The VA's deputy assistant secretary Adair Martinez said "the safety net held," and "even though it can be hard to carry out some of the controls we require, the reward is that government information can’t be violated." After the 2006 mishap suffered by the VA when a laptop was stolen containing millions of veterans' records, they implemented many more rigorous security standards. This practice is paying dividends for them now. The stolen laptop was recovered by Austin police in an unrelated drug raid on a neighborhood convenience store the same evening. The only blow suffered by the VA was a broken lock on the machine. OMB's admin for e-government and IT remarked "agencies are encrypting all data — data at rest, data that is mobile," and also noted "we also are using two-factor authentication, which makes sure only authorized people are on your network." This is a great example of how implementing some good security standards can really keep your company's data from being compromised.
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