Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2008/12/18/fergie_laptop_theft/

Royal laptop theft 'will expose picture'

Fergie fails on password security

By John Leyden

Posted in Security, 18th December 2008 12:19 GMT

Security experts said it would be child's play for thieves to access sensitive data on the Duchess of York's stolen laptop, despite the use of password protection.

Fergie's computer, swiped during a break in to a photography studio last Thursday, reportedly revealed Manchester United's January transfer window targets unreleased tracks by the Black Eyed Peas pictures of the Duchess, together with photos of her two daughters and her ex-husband Prince Andrew, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Claims that the laptop might have been password protected cut little ice with security experts. "Given the fact that the Royal Family was involved with the pictures held on this laptop, the data should have been encrypted - full stop," said Michael Callahan, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at security firm Credant. Callahan expressed surprise that the laptop - rather than a CD or USB stick - was used to take photos into the studio.

"Even if the pictures couldn't have been securely emailed, an encrypted CD-ROM or USB stick is a pretty standard format in most firms these days, 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." ®