A Free Educational Resource Created by Carnegie Mellon University to Empower You to Secure Your Part of Cyberspace

Laptop Theft

Stealing of laptop computers, typically from public places where they are left behind or unattended

Laptop theft has become a very common practice either due to forgetting laptops in common locations like taxi cabs, airport or restaurants, theft of laptops via burglary or iJacking , or focused attempts of data theft .

Losses caused by laptop theft worldwide are in the millions of dollars. The cost includes not only hardware, but also estimated losses due to the compromise of proprietary competitive information. According to survey and security statistics from PC Security  , U.S. companies lose an average of $89,000 per year, of which the hardware cost is a small percentage. There was a staggering 53 percent increase in reported cases of laptop theft in 2001 and 2002 alone.

Most laptop theft aims to steal and sell confidential business data to competitive firms. Many business laptops are enabled with direct network access to the corporate firms to which the victims belong, opening doors to virus attacks and identify theft .

Laptop theft is ignored by most of those corporate firms who have not experienced it and are not yet aware of the severe consequences. Some companies issue laptops without underscoring security policies and safety education, which should cause some major concern. Awareness of the potential dangers of laptop theft should be required.

Home users should also avoid having confidential information on laptops as much as possible and use the security measures discussed below to avoid theft and compromise their private information.

Protective Measures

Practices

  • Keep your laptop with you. Don't ever leave your laptop unattended.
  • Keep track of your belongings while traveling. Make note of all the things that belong to you and check periodically for key items like your laptop. Use travel tips such as those suggested at Corporate Travel Safety  .
  • Use password protection. Passwords make it difficult for someone else to access your data even when the laptop is misplaced.
  • Use biometric authentication. When possible, use laptops that are biometrics-enabled. The current most widely used form is fingerprint-based, where a legitimate user's fingerprint allows access to the laptop.
  • Use corporate security training. Employees should be trained on laptop security and made aware of the dangers of laptop theft.

Legal Issues

Privacy

Privacy can be easily compromised when valuable personal information is stored in a laptop without any security measures.

References

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