Low-tech hacking works, too.

• Position: INFO SECURITY - Brief article

How easy is it to steal sensitive company information through "visual hacking?" 3M and the Ponemon Institute recently conducted a covert experiment in which an undercover visual hacker was sent into 43 offices at seven large corporations to obtain sensitive information only by using visual means. In 88% of the trials, the hackers were able to access sensitive information. The experiment demonstrated that:

* Visual hacking happens quickly. In 63% of the trials the hackers obtained high-level, sensitive corporate information in less than 30 minutes.

* Multiple pieces of information are hacked. The hackers saw up to five pieces of private information per trial, including corporate financials and confidential employee and customer information.

* Visual hacking goes unnoticed. The hackers were stopped in only 30% of attempts and even then had already obtained an average of 2.8 pieces of confidential customer information.

Protecting your organization's sensitive information is up...