Losses highlight need for physical data security.

• Author: Swartz, Nikki
• Position: UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis - Brief article

It is not enough anymore for organizations to focus on technological data security--physical data security can no longer be overlooked.

In the past few years, large and small companies have suffered embarrassing and costly incidences of lost or missing data that was mailed, shipped, or otherwise transported via a disk or other media.

Most recently, Alcatel-Lucent called in the Secret Service to investigate a computer disk lost in transit that contained critical, personally identifying information--including Social Security numbers--on more than 200,000 current and retired employees and their dependants.

Just one week prior to Alcatel-Lucent's data loss fiasco, IBM confirmed that one of its contractors lost more than one tape containing identifying information on current and former IBM employees. IBM has not said how many...