Wait, That's Not an Airsickness Bag....
Posted by Kraig Baker
The Consumerist writes today about how a McAfee employee (yes, the McAfee involved in making security software) left a CD-ROM disk containing confidential employee data in the pocket of his airplane seat. It's always striking to me how people view their airplane (and train and bus) seats as private space. Many people who would never treat information insecurely in other situations seem to forget these habits when on airplanes. People conduct confidential business discussions with the person next to them, work on confidential documents on laptops with screens visible to passengers around them, and throw away confidential documents with used newspapers and magazines. Everyone is now concerned about the loss of decorum and flight rage that is going to arise from approving the use of mobile telephones on airplanes. As irritating as the use of mobile phones are airplanes will be, think of the concomitant loss of confidential information.