Information Protection and Security

 A new email scam has been reported offering a free laptop to people for forwarding the email.  Sony Ericsson made no such offer, the email address is bogus and the company has no one by that name offering the laptops.
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Confidential information (NPPI) should never be stored on mobile equipment.  This includes credit card numbers, passwords, bank numbers (etc.), and the personal information of other people. The information, itself, is usually more valuable than the equipment it’s stored on. Loss, theft, or negligence in the care of private information could lead to legal problems if the information is breached or compromised, especially if you’re handling the information for the university or a corporate entity.  If it’s necessary to transport NPPI on portable equipment, make sure it’s encrypted, and protect it like your wallet.  Stop. Think. Secure IT!

Prosecutors charged Hong Meng with exceeding his authority to access a protected computer when he downloaded certain documents from his DuPont-issued laptop computer to an external USB flash drive and then moved them onto his home computer.

The Internal Revenue Service showed mixed results in its effort to reduce security risks associated with laptops and a system that processes individual income tax returns, according to the Treasury inspector general for tax administration.
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The National Guard says about 131,000 former and current Army Guard members' personal data may be at risk because of the theft of a contractor's laptop.
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 Basic security applies to anyone using a computer.