Data breach prompts Ohio pact with McAfee for SafeBoot

Computerworld - Still reeling from a massive data breach caused by a stolen backup tape, the state of Ohio is planning to provide government agencies and schools with access to encryption software in 2008 to help protect sensitive data.

State officials announced late last week that they have agreed to purchase about 60,000 licenses of McAfee Inc.'s SafeBoot encryption software. The state will begin rolling out SafeBoot's policy-based encryption technology to government offices beginning early next year, according to the Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS). Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Ohio Office of Information Technology, working with a task force of 37 IT professionals from 30 state agencies, made the decision to purchase SafeBoot, the DAS said.

The encryption software will be available to all city and county governments, universities, colleges and schools in Ohio. The mobile data security tools are designed to protect laptop and desktop computers, memory sticks, and CD, DVD and hard drives from unauthorized access, said Steve Edmonson, the state's CIO, in a statement.

Ohio officials moved to launch a hefty security policy makeover after a backup tape containing Social Security and other personal information of residents was taken from the car of a government intern in June. The intern had been transporting data being used to test a new ERP system the state is developing. The data loss could cost the state as much as $3 million.

Computer forensics experts hired by the state determined the unencrypted stolen backup tape contained information on 64,467 state employees, 19,388 former employees and 47,245 Ohio taxpayers. In September the state docked a state government official about a week of future vacation time for not ensuring that the data would be protected.

McAfee acquired SafeBoot technology in a $350 million purchase of SafeBoot BV last month. The acquired data protection suite is designed to encrypt data stored on hard disks, individual files and folders on computer systems and storage devices.