45% of UK Respondents Losing Portable Storage Devices With Confidential Data – iStorage

Research conducted by iStorage Limited at the recent Bett 2014 education technology conference in London, UK, has revealed that 45% of respondents have lost a portable storage device that contained personal or work related data – a 7% rise from last year’s survey at the same event.

The survey was conducted across approximately 290 education professionals at the conference by the leading specialist in portable storage and digital encryption.

The survey also revealed that 97% of all respondents carry data on USB sticks, portable HDDs, CDs or DVDs, but that 73% do not encrypt the data on these devices.

Although a high percentage of education professionals are not encrypting data on portable storage devices, 97% consider data loss to be a growing concern and 94% agree that an encrypted storage device is preferable to an unprotected drive for daily use.

The iStorage team was on hand to discuss storage requirements with teachers, head teachers and IT staff and to provide advice on data protection. iStorage exhibited its secure USB flash drives and HDDs at the conference that took place at ExCel London.

Under the Data Protection Act, education professionals are obliged to use encryption to protect all portable devices such as USBs and external HDDs. It is recommended that USB drives should be password protected and fully encrypted to prevent reputational damage and a monetary penalty for losing data.

“Results from the survey show that data protection is a growing concern for education professionals, however, not everybody is implementing a high-level of security when it comes to portable storage devices,” states John Michael, CEO, iStorage. “Theft, loss or unauthorised access to portable storage devices containing sensitive data may cause harm to pupils, parents or staff and can seriously affect continuity. If inadequate steps have been taken for protection, it also amounts to a breach of the data protection act, which can result in a fine of up to £500,000 from the ICO, adverse publicity and potential job losses of those responsible.”

iStorage products are for use in schools, colleges and universities as they comply with ICO requirements for data protection. The diskAshur DT portable HDD allows for secure backup of all school data and servers and the datAshur and diskAshur USB drives are for those times when sensitive data needs to leave school premises. All of the company’s products are compatible with any OS and are easy for staff working at educational institutions to implement and use.