In order to determine the best course of action, how should this incident most productively be viewed?

SCENARIO

Please use the following to answer the next QUESTION:

It’s just what you were afraid of. Without consulting you, the information technology director at your organization launched a new initiative to encourage employees to use personal devices for conducting business. The initiative made purchasing a new, high-specification laptop computer an attractive option, with discounted laptops paid for as a payroll deduction spread over a year of paychecks. The organization is also paying the sales taxes. It’s a great deal, and after a month, more than half the organization’s employees have signed on and acquired new laptops. Walking through the facility, you see them happily customizing and comparing notes on their new computers, and at the end of the day, most take their laptops with them, potentially carrying personal data to their homes or other unknown locations. It’s enough to give you data- protection nightmares, and you’ve pointed out to the information technology Director and many others in the organization the potential hazards of this new practice, including the inevitability of eventual data loss or theft.

Today you have in your office a representative of the organization’s marketing department who shares with you, reluctantly, a story with potentially serious consequences. The night before, straight from work, with laptop in hand, he went to the Bull and Horn Pub to play billiards with his friends. A fine night of sport and socializing began, with the laptop "safely" tucked on a bench, beneath his jacket. Later that night, when it was time to depart, he retrieved the jacket, but the laptop was gone. It was not beneath the bench or on another bench nearby. The waitstaff had not seen it. His friends were not playing a joke on him. After a sleepless night, he confirmed it this morning, stopping by the pub to talk to the cleanup crew. They had not found it. The laptop was missing. Stolen, it seems. He looks at you, embarrassed and upset.

You ask him if the laptop contains any personal data from clients, and, sadly, he nods his head, yes. He believes it contains files on about 100 clients, including names, addresses and governmental identification numbers. He sighs and places his head in his hands in despair.

In order to determine the best course of action, how should this incident most productively be viewed?
A . As the accidental loss of personal property containing data that must be restored.
B . As a potential compromise of personal information through unauthorized access.
C . As an incident that requires the abrupt initiation of a notification campaign.
D . As the premeditated theft of company data, until shown otherwise.

View Answer

Answer: B

Explanation:

This answer recognizes the risk of data breach that may result from the loss of the laptop, as it may expose the personal information of the clients to unauthorized or unlawful processing. A data breach is defined as a security incident that leads to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure of, or access to, personal data transmitted, stored or otherwise processed. A data breach may have serious consequences for the individuals whose data is compromised, such as identity theft, fraud, discrimination, financial loss or reputational damage. Therefore, it is important to view this incident as a potential compromise of personal information and take appropriate measures to contain, assess and mitigate the impact of the breach.

Reference: IAPP CIPM Study Guide, page 86; ISO/IEC 27002:2013, section 16.1.1