According to Management Today magazine, data security firm Credant Technologies has reported that, in the last year alone, dry cleaners have found as many as 9,000 USB memory sticks in clothing sent for cleaning.

One particular dry cleaner’s in the City of London said that it found some 100 USB sticks a year. Credant also found that more than 6,000 mobile devices (including laptops, iPods, and phones as well as memory sticks) are discovered in the back of cabs every six months. Given that dry cleaners also claim to have found Rolexes, credit cards, drugs and diamonds in previous laundry bags, USB sticks appear to be among the least interesting things that they find.

Comment: USB sticks have made it so much easier and more convenient for people to carry around vast amounts of data – but it’s no wonder data loss is rife because they’re so easy to leave in your pocket by mistake. And it’s not just USB-related identity theft that we should worry about. What about the security of all the e-learning materials that are being transported – legitimately or not – on USB sticks for use in those stolen moments of self-improvement during a busy day?