Credant Technologies: RBS computer fiasco was avoidable

by Richard Kilner

Story link: Credant Technologies: RBS computer fiasco was avoidable

Military grade encryption specialist Credant Technologies has stated that the now infamous eBay sale of a computer containing the banking details of a million RBS customers was avoidable.

Credant has said that if the bank and contractors had engaged in an effective encryption and data protection strategy the event would never have occurred.

The firm’s chief marketing officer and senior vice president, Michael Callahan, explained that a solid strategy would have entailed encrypting all the information, which would only be decrypted as and when necessary.

That way, if the information fell into the wrong hands through human error or more nefarious means the data would have remained safely inaccessible.

It would also have heavily mitigated the public relations damage involved, and removed the need for a public apology for having such much information lost through a security breach.

Callahan believes that RBS will probably end up being fined, but has said he is more concerned by the presence of unencrypted information in the hands of a third party.