was on this lappy?

Coutts banking details would be handy!

If they showed the interior of "private" bits of Royal properties it could be of a small help to terrorists. That's about it. Alternatively they could be pr0n.

It's the one with the full bottle of mind bleach in the pocket, thanks- I'll be needing it...

Some companies have security policies created by nincompoops stating that because USB sticks have got lost by idiots in the past we will make everyone save all their sensitive company data onto laptops, which have passwords (therefore secure) and which we will prominently carry home every night in bags with prominently displayed computer logos on them, because if we kept them in the office they might get stolen..

Carrying a computer bag home after dark (with aformentioned well recognisable computer logo on back) will not increase the chances of the data falling into the wrong hands... especially seeing as we carry them home on a daily basis, through the same neighbourhood night after night, following the same route, carrying laptops with non-encrypted data on them.

It's fool proof.

Too bad it's not proof against anything else.

Anon because USB sticks with encrypted data are inherently bad, ok?

Imagine all the dasTARDly deeds they could do with the pictures! They could...errm:

look at them

laugh at them

try (stupidly) to sell them to the media, get laughed at themselves and nicked

print them out and use them for dart practise

print them out and give people paper cuts

delete them

Not exactly WMDs are they now...

Michael Callahan needs to STFU and "it beggars belief" that he is so desperate for his name to appear in print that he would come out with such crap.

PH because she is about as news worthy as this article.

Or not as the case may be, or wasn't rather, in this particular Madam's case.

Still, it's nice to know the police are on the job. Or do they just shuffle papers for these things like they did when someone stole my bicycle?

I mean, how the hell are they supposed to find it?

"so it beggars belief that the Royal Family's security staff - who are supposedly drawn from the upper echelons of the Police and UK Security Services - didn't pick up on the need for IT security on the photos."

Unfortunately, no, it doesn't beggar belief at all. Standard thought processes seem to not be able to tell the difference between encryption and password-protected. I've been asked what the difference is by people who really should know better too many times to be comfortable.

Unless the picture is of them sh@gging, I don't really see the problem.

Paris, cos, you know...

"Tools"? I see why you're AC, you realize your own stupidity but can't put your finger on it.

To help you along: It's not the pictures in se that have to be encrypted, it's the entire HD contents. That a (probably virus-laden) laptop is not the most efficient way to transport a few pics is also pointed out in the article, but in itself an unrelated WTF.

Note to ElReg: stick to single bullet points in articles, you confuse some of the plebs.

one of our exec lost his laptop for the 2nd time in 6 months (yes, lost not stolen)

IT support dude to execs PA "does he have a back-up?"

PA "err, I don't think so where do we get one of those?"

awesome

so "upper echelons of the Police and UK Security Services" eh?

well they have a great record on keeping data safe don't they?

blind leading the blind if you ask me, and they want more of our data every week, god help us!

mines the one with the winning lottery ticket in the pocket please

Please stop suggesting that there are pornographic pictures of the royal family on that laptop.

I'm gonna be need some of that mind bleach, AC...

So, no need to break stride while walking in to access them then?

Hint: Try not breaking the "password protection" (hah!) but working around it. If you can't do this in 10 minutes, you can turn in your "l33t d00d hax0r (kindergarten grade 1)" badge.

dfasfdfs ............................

I would care if it were slightly more time-worthy people whose laptop had been nicked...

First we had Rik Myslewski in his 'New York iPod Tax' article mentioning GigaGrope.tv

Now we have you with gingermunters.com. I wish people wouldn't do this because I get very frustrated and disappointed when, after looking for them, it turns out they don't exist.

sounds like someone trying to set up a part in Bank Job II (though tunneling through the internet isn't quite the same as digging under a chicken shop!)

Why use a laptop anyway FFS... isn't everything int he cloud these days?

A copy of Trinity Rescue Disk, the quick and easy way to remove those unwanted Windoze Passwords!

Full disk encryption, its the only answer

I'd say they would be a feast fit for, a, errrr, King!

One the fact that this has made the news and Two the fact that a laptop with sensitive date on was not encrypted.... We might not deem this to be sensitive but someone clearly does... Which brings me to Password protection is not good for anything other than delaying the outcome of getting the information. Hacking a password takes a matter of minutes and if you have not encrypted the Laptop then its your own fault. Encrypt to 256 bit and have the login at pre boot... We have installed Check Point FDE for this very reason and have ticked all the boxes for FIP 140-2 requirements...

These so called IT bods are getting paid a lot of tax payers money for nothing!

Encrypt stuff you don't want other people to look at.

This will be different for me, for you, for the Financial Organisation I work for, for the government, the police and for the military.

Thats why the first step in Information Security is classification. Only when you put a value on Information can you establish the appropriate method/s of protection.

Unfortunately this is not appreciated by many... even though many of us make these kind of decisions everyday (whether to go ex-directory, withhold our telephone numbers etc)

PV