Last year, Thailand experienced the worst monsoon season in 50 years, with hundreds of lives lost and over two thirds of the country swamped by the end of October. The tragic images of flooded towns showed the extent of the immediate damage to the region but the long-term impact of that flooding will be felt for some time yet.

One way in which that flooding has affected the rest of the world is in the supply of computer hard disk drives (HDDs). Apart from being the second largest supplier of complete HDDs, after China, Thailand also manufactures individual components which are used by HDD manufacturers in other parts of the world. For example, there is Nidec, a Thai company that supplies more than 70 percent of all HDD motors worldwide. All of the leading hard drive brands, including Western Digital, Seagate, Hitachi, Toshiba and Samsung, use motors produced by Nidec.

Many of these companies were impacted by the floods and as a result, the global supply of HDDs slowed to a trickle. Most of the affected manufacturers are only expecting to have their production rates back to normal by the end of the second quarter of this year, which is a long time away. Until then we face a severe shortage of HDDs around the world.

The Current Situation

At present, some HDD models and capacities are simply not available. Those wanting to purchase HDDs will have to choose from a very limited range of drive capacities, and at much higher prices than before; over double the usual price in many cases. Prices are still climbing and that is expected to continue for a few more months.

South Africa is not immune to the problem, of course. In fact, we face a double-whammy, as the weakening of the Rand against the Dollar in recent months makes the rising global cost of hard drives even more severe for South Africans.

Of course, there is little that we consumers can do about this, but if you’re planning to purchase any HDDs within the next few months, don’t delay. Your options will be even more limited in a few weeks from now and prices will be higher.

Looking on the bright side…

There is one possible upside to all of this, and that is the impact it will have on the adoption of Solid State Drive (SSD) technology. Because SSDs don’t have any moving components, the manufacturers have been able to continue production of SSDs while HDD production was hampered. As the crisis continues, many consumers will be forced to purchase the more expensive SSD drives instead of traditional HDDs. In fact, the effects of this are already being seen, with SSD manufacturers like Sandisk expecting higher profits on the back of rising SSD sales. This accelerated adoption of SSD technology will help to make these units more affordable. And that is a good thing for all of us!

The reason I say it’s good news is that SSDs are superior to hard disk drives for many applications, such as high-end laptops and ultra-fast server storage. The biggest benefit of SSDs is that they are very fast – up to 100 times faster than HDDs. That makes an enormous difference. Many high-end laptops have been supplied with SSDs for some time now, and their performance is worlds apart from what is achievable from an HDD based system. SSDs are also more resilient; because they don’t have spinning disks and moving arms, they handle shock and vibration far more gracefully than the notoriously sensitive HDDs do. And they are more energy efficient, as the lack of moving parts means that less energy is lost to heat. That is particularly important for mobile devices such as laptops which need to preserve battery life.

On the downside, SSDs are still a lot more expensive than HDDs, and they are not yet available in the very large sizes of some HDDs. Hopefully the boost in SSD adoption will help the technology to mature and to overcome these challenges more quickly!

So, while the current HDD shortage poses a significant challenge for IT service providers and consumers in the short term, it will also have a positive spin-off, as the adoption of the superior SSD technology is accelerated.

Identity theft has become a widely-used term in recent years, and with good reason: according to Reuters the worldwide rate of identity theft is increasing by as much as 70% per year. South Africa is no exception, with the South African Fraud Prevention Services (SAFPS) reporting that they receive an average of 25 reports of identity theft per day.

The potentially life-changing effects of identity theft were illustrated last week when Hanan al-Samawi, a Yemani student, was arrested by police for allegedly shipping two parcel bombs to the United States. Fortunately they soon discovered that she had been the victim of identity theft and she was subsequently released. Nonetheless, the potential consequences of identity theft are frightening!

So how can I protect myself from this threat, you may ask? The answer is not simple – fraudulent actions can range from the physical (credit card skimming, for example) to the electronic (impersonation on social media sites, etc.) Protecting yourself from identity theft therefore requires a change in mindset as well as a change of your daily habits.

Below are some general guidelines:

1. Protect your sensitive information. Never give out personal details such as credit card information, PIN numbers and ID numbers over the telephone, via the Internet or to anybody you don’t know.
2. Follow good IT security practices such as using secure passwords, locking your computer when you step away from it and ensuring that your anti-malware protection is up to date.
3. Shred old documents such as bank statements, etc. Never discard those documents witout shredding them first!
4. Make sure that you only transact with verified parties via the Internet. Look for valid SSL certificates on banking and shopping sites, for example.
5. Whenever possible, choose companies that have been verified by an online verification provider.
6. You may want to consider taking out an identity theft protection policy from your insurance company. There are also companies that offer specialised identity theft protection services.

Of course, companies are also at risk of identity fraud and there additional steps that a company should take to protect itself and its clients:

1. Create and enforce a suitable corporate security policy.
2. Manage your physical security effectively – all the passwords in the world won’t help if a thief can walk in and steal your server or a backup drive.
3. Ensure that your IT Support company closely monitors and maintains your security systems.
4. Ensure that your corporate network is properly managed and that the latest security patches and anti-malware updates are applied. Your IT Support provider should provide you with regular reports on the health of your network.
5. Ensure that ex-employees have their access priveleges revoked as soon as they leave.
6. Limit access to information within the organisation. A receptionist probably doesn’t need access to the finance drive on the server, for example.
7. Destroy any company records before discarding them.
8. Ensure that your customers can confirm your online identity. An online verification provider such as Infointeg will give your customers the peace of mind they need to transact with you.
9. Ensure that you have a valid SSL certificate if you offer online shopping or if you deal with sensitive information via your website.

For more information, contact the South African Fraud Prevention Services.