British authorities certify Ibas ExpertEraser for erasing confidential information in the UK

"The certification is a recognition of the quality of Ibas' technology. It will be a door-opener for sales of our software to the public sector in Great Britain," says Bjørn Arne Skogstad, Managing Director of Ibas AS.

"The certification by the Communications-Electronics Security Group (CESG) tops the list of public-sector certifications in 2004. Ibas has already been certified by the Swedish Defence Authorities and the Norwegian National Security Authorities," says Mr. Skogstad.

The highest security specifications detailed in the HMG Infosec Standard No. 5 have been used to certify Expert Eraser. This standard sets requirements for how government information must be treated and erased when IT equipment is sold or disposed of.

The CESG, which is based in Cheltneham, is responsible for the certification, and part of the UK Government Communications Headquarters. Among its areas of responsibility is to develop reliable methods for exchanging information.  

Sensitive information at risk in one of five Norwegian companies
A survey of 200 Norwegian IT managers conducted by TNS Gaullup on behalf of Ibas showed that one in five Norwegian companies and government institutions do not erase information properly on their IT equipment when disposing of such equipment. "Plenty of sensitive personal and business-related information - both in the public and private sectors - are at risk of ending up in the wrong hands and being misused," says Mr. Skogstad.

The findings from the survey is a wake-up call for companies and institutions to tighten their routines with respect to protecting sensitive information about their company, their customers and clients and their own employees.

Only a small fraction of companies and institutions use reliable erasing techniques to remove data on their hard disks when they are selling or disposing of their IT equipment. This means that most are running a serious risk when they change over to newer equipment. The law calls for the reliable erasure of sensitive data, but the legislation in the field does not specify how that data should be erased. 

"More detailed Norwegian legislation would increase the awareness of the fact that sensitive data should be treated appropriately when disposing of IT equipment. This is not only a question of erasing electronic trails, but we are talking about erasing libraries of historical information as well. It is a paradox that information that at one time could only be accessed by the user of the equipment and was heavily protected by firewalls and secret passwords, is suddenly open for just about anyone to access," says Mr. Skogstad.