IT security vital for laptops, expert suggests

Written by Louise Tate

Firms should ensure that customer information is not held on laptops, it has been claimed.

Digital vaulting specialist Cyber-Ark pointed to the recent theft of a laptop from the Irish Gas Board and pointed out that it contained the bank details of around 75,000 customers as an example of why IT security should be a priority.

Mark Fulbrook, Cyber-Ark's UK and Ireland director, noted that the data on the laptop was not encrypted and claimed this is a "very serious procedural error".

"Best practices in IT security mean that the sensitive customer data shouldn’t have been stored on a laptop in the first place," he added.

Mr Fulbrook added that minimum measures which should have been employed by the gas board are for the data to be encrypted locally and only given access to on a need-to-know basis.

The expert also said that any remote access to the data should not include any customer payment details or bank account information, unless the firm is confident in its use of secure channel with full authentication, encryption and security measures.

Earlier this month, National Consumer Agency told the BBC that the laptop theft does not paint Irish businesses in a favourable light.