Encryption Mandate: Clear and Present Danger for the Energy Sector
Energy organizations fuel the 21st century by producing and delivering electricity, oil, and natural gas. More importantly, they enable the operation of every other critical infrastructure required for a functioning society and economy. Unfortunately, these organizations are increasingly subject to sophisticated cyber security attacks. Imagine what would happen if people no longer had access to safe, reliable electric power, water, telecommunications, gas supply, transportation, or other critical infrastructure systems.
Encryption in Government
Make the Rules, Play by the Rules
Few entities possess as much personal information as the U.S. government. In 2015, the Internal Revenue Service processed over 150 million tax returns, and the Social Security Administration paid benefits to nearly 60 million Americans. In a sense, the government lays the foundation for every U.S. citizen’s personal data the moment each person receives his or her Social Security number.
Encryption in Finance
Regulatory Compliance Is Always a Smart Investment
Today, encryption is a staple of the professional world, as virtually every industry that deals with personal and/or sensitive data relies on encryption to protect that data. Those that don’t encrypt put themselves at risk for stiff government penalties, fines, lawsuits, and more.
Data Encryption in Education
Educational Institutions at High Risk for Costly Data Breaches
The Ponemon Institute estimates that on average, organizations of all types face a 26% probability of a data breach involving 10,000 or more lost or stolen records – and educational institutions are increasingly becoming targets. In fact, the education vertical tied for 2nd place in Symantec’s 2016 Internet Security
Encryption in Healthcare
The Right Prescription for Maintaining Compliance with Patient Security Regulations
In the healthcare industry, expensive equipment is usually a point of pride, but one leading provider never intended to pay $1.5 million each for two laptops. Only after the laptops were stolen did it come to light that they contained over 1 million unencrypted patient records — a clear HIPAA violation. The provider ended up settling a class action suit for $3 million, but plenty of other healthcare providers have felt the sting of failing to comply with HIPAA, as well. The next major data breach isn’t a matter of if, only when.
In any market where IP owners value the security and safeguarding of data, it may be preferable to move files on encrypted flash drives rather than over the public Internet and well-traveled networks. Such flash drives will let the user authenticate his or her identity either with software via an application that runs on the host system or without software. Both approaches have their respective pros and cons. In this paper, we will explore the merits of both flash drive models and recommend which user priorities will be best aligned with each drive type.