SafeBoot - Mobile Data Security

Our Take is contributed by SafeBoot Chief Technology Officer, Simon Hunt 

There are a variety of simple solutions to protect USB Sticks. Some require passwords. Others, like the SafeBoot range, simply require the correct fingerprint to be used before the device will become active.

The bigger question here, though, is why did this professor have this data at all? I could understand if it was details of his students, or all the students in his department. But having the names, social security numbers and DOBs for every student enrolled in 2006 seems excessive.

Surely such sensitive information would be limited to those in admissions who absolutely needed to know that information, but not distributed to all and sundry. I am sure there must have been a good reason for him to have the information, and even a better one for him to have it while traveling??