Can technology security be enhanced through Principle Power?

In the Wall Street Journal Technology Blog, Ben Worthen suggests that workers who are sloppy with data and other technology security may not understand its worth. His analogy is great: If someone handed you a suitcase and told you it had $2million dollars in cash inside it--and asked you to guard it, you would do so with enormous vigilance. That's because you understand what $2m is worth.

Of course, if the same person asked you to guard a box of (say) comic books, you might exert less vigilance. If the box of comics were stolen, it might amaze you to learn it was worth more than $2m, as the contents were rare collectibles.

To quote Worthen
The perception problem: When workers lose a computer disk or a portable storage device such as a USB memory stick, they seem to look at the $20 it will cost to replace the device, not the value of the data inside it. (It’s like valuing that theoretical $10 million shipment by the cost of the briefcase and not by the cash inside.) “There’s a real disconnect between the perceived value and the real value of information,” says Larry Ponemon, chairman of the Ponemon Institute, a privacy think tank. “The rank and file employee still doesn’t seem to get it.”
You could say the same about myriad aspects of organizational reality--most obviously, strategy and core values. Employees fail to perform certain aspects of their jobs well because the don't understand the cost of those lapses. When the cashier at a retail outlet appears dead on her feet, and stares at you with listless eyes as she robotically says "have a nice day", she is only concerned with her next break. If asked about the consequences of that performance, she might expand her perspective to include your personal experience and even her own evaluation. But the more reaching problem of your dissatisfaction and how prolific you are likely to be in complaining to your sphere of influence--and the damage that can cause when multiplied by lots of robotic cashiers and complaining customers--that cost is beyond her understanding.
Alignment of core values an strategy has the same critical impact as securing data. Breaking the bond with a customer by delivering sup-par products or service does not differ from lapses in security that place personal information at risk. Any difference between the two is but a matter of degree, not essence.