Submission + - Gov't workers putting U.S. data at risk
MsManhattan writes: Federal employees who work unofficially from home at night and on weekends are putting U.S. government data — including information about private citizens — at risk, a new study by the Telework Exchange suggests. They often take home government files and work on unsecured PCs, the study found. Among the findings: 58% of government employees work from home without authorization; of those, 54% take files home from the office; only 75% have anti-virus software installed and only 60% use encryption. Even more alarming, the study found that despite the publicity surrounding last year's loss of a Veterans Administration laptop that contained the personal information of 26.5 million military veterans and family members (the laptop was later recovered), 13% of government agencies still do not put encryption software on new laptops issued to employees and fewer than half the agencies have provided security training to employees in the aftermath.
