Just as I finished posting about the serious security issues identified in the Department of Family and Social Affairs I read about the government’s auditing body, the Comptroller and Audit General, losing a laptop containing sensitive information about staff in a government department and details on companies recieving grant aid from the government.

Details are sketchy but it appears the laptop went missing at a bus stop.  The CAG has stated that the data is secure as the laptop is password protected and the data encrypted using TeamMate.  Now I have never heard of an encryption product called TeamMate but trust Google to find the answer.  Apparently it is an audit management system which has inbuilt encryption.

But as we all know data has a habit of leaking out of the applications we are using into temporary folders and system cache not to mention emails, spreadsheets, documents or small databases.  So my guess is that there is sensitive data on that laptop that is still at risk.  After all the biggest repository most people have of sensitive data is their email file.

According to a statement on the CAG‘s website the ” the Office is extending encryption to all other material on laptop computers“.  Ah well nice to see things happening in the order they should be.  Bolted, door, horse ring a bell with anyone?