NextSentry, a desktop security firm, is recommending that businesses prohibit the use of iPods and other pocketable storage devices due to what it calls “Pocket Fraud.” It believes that unscrupulous employees are using their access to customer data and intellectual property in concert with the portability of pocketable storage devices to steal the valuable data from their employers.
“Many employees enjoy listening to their iPods at work, but companies can’t afford this luxury at the expense of leaking valuable customer data or intellectual property into the hands of criminals or competitors,” said Jim Hereford, CEO of NextSentry. “If you don’t have proper policy enforcement capabilities in place to monitor the desktop and all removable media, even the CEO who loves their iPod could be stealing millions of dollars worth of data right underneath the chief security officer’s nose.”