Feds encrypt 800,000 laptops; 1.2 million to go

U.S. government agencies are scrambling to plug one of their biggest security holes: sensitive information -- names, addresses and Social Security numbers, for example -- stored on laptops, handhelds and thumb drives.

In the last year, agencies have purchased 800,000 licenses for encryption software through the federal Data at Rest (DAR) Encryption program, which is run jointly by the General Services Administration and the U.S. Department of Defense.

"Sales have been very brisk," says Fred Schobert, CTO for integrated technology services at the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service. "We've been somewhat overwhelmed."