Unencrypted confidential data in storage media is subject to theft or loss, which can be used or sold by the attackers. Early this year, a laptop belonging to a New Jersey-based health insurance company was stolen by a health insurer.

It contained personal information including the SSNs (social security numbers) for its 3,00,000 members. Companies are getting serious about situations where sensitive
information is stolen on media like CDs, DVDs, back-up tape drives, laptops, etc, and will implement encryption technologies and fraud detection software.