Full-disk and file-based encryption should be combined to best prevent data leaks, according to security analysts and vendors. It seems to be in the news about once a month—another laptop disappears containing thousands of pieces of corporate or personal data. Now the legal department wants to know whether IT can confirm that some or all of the data was encrypted so the company can determine both its risk and what to do next.
It is in cases like these, when data is at risk, that some vendors and analysts say full-disk encryption is the ultimate assurance against data leaks. "The legal position that is out there is if I lose a machine and the data’s encrypted, it doesn’t really matter what data is on the machine because no one can get access to it," said Steven Sprague, CEO of Wave Systems, based in Lee, Mass. "So there are a couple of challenges with that. One is, Do I have good, strong encryption? The second one is, How do I prove this machine I no longer have was encrypted when I lost it?" Full-Disk Encryption Is Partial Protection, Analysts Say
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