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Corporate break-in! Apple responsible?

Opinion
Jan 22, 20081 min
Data and Information Security

MacWorld blessed the world with new Apple goodness last week.  I’m sure you have seen the commercials or the web-hype surrounding the MacBook Air.  My wife a noted technophobe simply said “wow” when she saw the Air for the first time yesterday evening.  I’ve got to say that I agree.  From a purely aesthetic point of view there is a simplistic elegance to the Air that is unmistakeable. 

Unfortunately, this will likely lead a good number of C-level types into a frenzy of buying.  Please note, I said “unfortunately”.  Last week I posted on the absence of viable whole disk encryption for the Mac.  The last thing a corporation needs is some executive toting around a shiny new toy that holds gobs of unencrypted confidential data.  Heck the MacBook Air practically comes with a steal me sign.  It’s the hottest new toy from Apple and is ripe for the pluckin’.   While the Air is certainly pretty, I must say that I would have been more impressed if Apple would rethink its security strategy. 

Chad McDonald, CISSP, CISA, C|EH, PMP is a Senior Professional Services Consultant with Imperva. Chad has worked previously at National Student Clearinghouse, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts and is the former Chief Information Security Officer at Georgia College & State University. Chad has addressed numerous groups on topics such as business continuity planning, incident response, and information security awareness. Chad has spent the bulk of his career building, managing, and assessing information security for educational and research organizations. Chad has earned multiple professional security certifications. He is a member of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association as well as InfraGard, an FBI Task Force charged with protecting the nation's information infrastructure. Chad is active in the security community He worked with law enforcement agencies to assist in the prosecution of the first computer crime on record in Georgia and continues to assist local and state authorities with computer based investigations. Chad has investigated computer and computer-related crimes for local and state law enforcement agencies. Chad is an avid Mac user, since he was rescued from the dark side eight years ago. He currently conducts the vast majority of his work using a MacBook Pro and a MacBook. Chad looks forward to the day that he can stop referring to himself in the third person and actually pay someone to write his bio for him. The opinions and statements expressed here are those of Chad McDonald and in no way reflect opinions or statements of any employer or organization with which Chad is affiliated.