20/02/2008

Blood Donors Hit By Data Loss

Ireland's Data Protection Commission has expressed its concerns over the loss of sensitive information about Irish blood donors - but a new invention could have halted the data being misused.

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service has confirmed that an encrypted disc containing information about more than 170,000 donors was stolen at knifepoint in New York earlier this month.

The IBTS had sent the disc to the US to have its software updated, but the worker involved was mugged and had his laptop stolen. The matter is being investigated by the Data Protection Commission.

However, in a separate development, a piece of technology that could prevent such illegal access to information has been launched.

A British company has developed the intelligent security technology that can block access and even destroy data if a laptop is moved from its designated space.

Backstopp, from technology company, Virtuity, constantly monitors the "heartbeat" of a laptop to determine its location. If the laptop is moved from its allowed zone the software steps in to remove sensitive data.

See: Laptop Designed To 'Self Destruct

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