Ohio gets the message on data breaches

After announcing in September that a computer tape containing information on approximately 85,000 current and former state employees and another 47,000 tax payers had been stolen from a car, the State of Ohio has signed a contract with McAfee for 60,000 licenses of its Safe Boot encryption program. The Ohio breach occurred when a back-up computer tape was stolen out of a car that belonged to an employee of the state. That employee, an intern, was specifically tasked with transporting the tape, which contained names, Social Security numbers, and other identifying information on 64,467 state employees, 19,388 former employees, and another 47,245 tax payers. It was completely unencrypted, meaning the data would be easily accessible. The tape’s loss is expected to cost the state around $3 million in direct costs. The state will start using the new software early next year.

Source: http://www.guardmycreditfile.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=941&Itemid=138