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Re: Tech Company Chairman's Computer Disappears During Conference
From: InfoSec News <isn () C4I ORG>
Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 02:08:36 -0500
Forwarded By: Aj Effin ReznoR <aj () reznor com> William Knowles wrote:
IRVINE, Calif. (AP) - A computer belonging to the founder and chairman of a top telecommunications company was believed to have been stolen from a hotel conference room where he had been speaking to journalists. The portable computer apparently contained valuable company secrets involving Qualcomm Inc., which designs and produces chips for wireless communications devices and holds hundreds of patents. Qualcomm CEO and founder Irwin Jacobs told some journalists attending the meeting that some of that information could be valuable to foreign governments. Jacobs left the laptop unattended on a podium at the Hyatt Regency-Irvine ballroom for 15 to 20 minutes Saturday after addressing the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. He was speaking with a small group about 30 feet away when it disappeared.
The second mistake here was leaving the laptop unattended. As the CEO of a company that makes cellular phones which are pushing the envelope of "damn small" should know, devices that are left alone tend to sprout legs and wander off.
"We took it as a straight laptop theft, which is pretty typical for a hotel," Irvine Police Sgt. Tim Smith said.
Incidental: Been told that Irvine police are some of the highest paid in the nation. Seems having a degree is a requirment to be on the force. Such intellect is clearly displayed in the sharpness Sgt. Smith displays ;)
Trimble said the laptop, valued at about $4,000, was password protected and the data was backed up on a computer at Qualcomm's San Diego headquarters. However, password-protected computers running Windows' operating systems, as Jacobs' was, can easily be broken into.
This would be the first mistake. A combination of relying on the oxymoron of "Windows Security" as well as *not*encrypting*the*data*!!!! ARRGGHHHHH! When will people learn?????
If security on Jacobs' laptop was limited only to password protection - rather than a more advanced encryption scheme - "it's extremely unlikely that it will take any more than removing the hard drive and hooking it up to another computer to read all the files," said Shawn Abbott, chief technical officer of computer security company Rainbow Technologies.
And this never occurs to "high tech firms", either. Truly sad.
SABEW President Byron Calame, deputy managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, said many people had access to the ballroom on Saturday, including exhibitors and guests at the conference and hotel staff.
Speculation on the insecure environment is pointless. Jacobs was lazy on two very important counts, period. -aj. ISN is hosted by SecurityFocus.com --- To unsubscribe email LISTSERV () SecurityFocus com with a message body of "SIGNOFF ISN".
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