Oops, the dog ate the files

By Art Gillis The next time a large bank loses customer data, it ought to come up with an excuse that the public can relate to. So far, the news reports have focused on four large banks. Those banks spend $11.6 billion a year on technology. A good padlock at Home Depot costs less than $4.00. Buy it in China or India and it's a buck. Do the math. But if the loss occurs during the transport of data, there may even be a free solution to that problem. Thomas L. Friedman tells us the cable to

By Art Gillis

The next time a large bank loses customer data, it ought to come up with an excuse that the public can relate to. So far, the news reports have focused on four large banks. Those banks spend $11.6 billion a year on technology. A good padlock at Home Depot costs less than $4.00. Buy it in China or India and it's a buck. Do the math. But if the loss occurs during the transport of data, there may even be a free solution to that problem. Thomas L. Friedman tells us the cable to India is so large, and still under-used, that I believe it could become an online data storage device. Banks could then leave the data at the bottom of the sea for free. And if a whale gets it, so what! They're busy enough just staying alive, and probably wouldn't have much of an appetite for consumer data. Are data security custodians so bogged down with intellectual crime that they are overlooking the obvious "I forgot to lock it" crimes? It's 2006. Do you know where your data are?