Easy encryption for CERN laptops
The number of laptops stolen from or lost by CERN staff and users is not negligible. On average, four to five devices are reported lost or stolen to the CERN Fire Brigade every month.
The real number might be even higher as not everyone is aware that such thefts/losses should be reported in this way. Along with each laptop, private e-mails and personal documents, as well as MARS forms, contracts, NDAs, etc. are also lost. Fortunately, CERN has not lost any sensitive data so far (unlike other companies).
In parallel with the approval by the Enlarged Directorate at its latest session of the development of a CERN-wide Data Protection Policy, the IT Department has prepared measures allowing you to protect the data on your laptop using full hard-disk encryption.
While the word “encryption” might sounds complicated, the IT Department has fully automated the encryption process. For centrally managed Windows PCs, you just have to install the corresponding CMF package (“MS Bitlocker”) by right-clicking on the little CMF icon on the right-hand side of your taskbar and selecting “Add/Remove CMF Packages”. In addition, instructions have been produced for manual configuration of non-centrally managed Windows PCs (here) as well as Macs (here). If you choose the manual option, make sure that you securely store a recovery key, e.g. in your private DFS folder, so that you can recover your hard disk’s data if there is a hardware or BIOS change or if your password gets lost.
Users who frequently store sensitive information on their laptops and often take their laptop home or on duty travel, e.g. our colleagues in the FP and HR Departments as well as in the DG Unit, line or project managers and secretaries, are kindly encouraged to encrypt their laptops. Loss of such data is not only an unnecessary blunder but might put the Organization at risk.
The CERN Service Desk and the Desktop PC support team are always on hand to help you configure your laptop!
Check out our website for further information, answers to your questions and help, or e-mail Computer.Security@cern.ch.
If you want to learn more about computer security incidents and issues at CERN, just follow our Monthly Report.
