Consumer Confidential: A breach too far: Encrypt our data

Let's say there was a bank that locked the front door at night but left all its money sitting out on a table instead of securing it in the vault. That would be incredibly stupid - an invitation for thieves to break in and make off with the loot.

And it's precisely what nearly every big company and government agency does with people's personal data.

Barely a week goes by without news of yet another security breach involving a corporate or government database. Last week, the burger chain Sonic said its payment system had been hacked, with millions