Jul 31 2009
Protect Your Laptop and Your Information
According to a study released by the Ponemon Institute, business travelers lose a staggering 12,000 laptops each week at airports by their count. According to a survey by the FBI, 97% are never recovered.
That number is even more shocking when you take into account that 65 percent of those responding to surveys indicated they were carrying confidential information. Additionally, they weren't taking any specific measures to protect that information. This is a lot of sensitive, unprotected information that can be stolen, or lost, by careless people in the waiting area of an airport.
The following prevention and mitigation tips for laptop and data theft may help you on your next business trip.
Be certain to give yourself plenty of time at the airport so that your are not preoccupied. Pack lightly so that you are not overwhelmed with luggage. Security checkpoints and gates are the most common places that people lose their computer at airports. Pay careful attention in both of these areas.
Encrypt and back up all of your important files. If you do lose your computer, this will minimize the risk that any confidential company information will be easily accessed by wrong people. With a backup you can quickly rebuild any files and minimize your downtime. Both Windows XP & Vista lets you encrypt folders and files. This is done by right clicking your data, select properties, open the general tab, then the advanced box, and finally check "Encrypt contents to secure data box".
Another good option is to use invisible ultraviolet markings on you laptop. By doing this any recovered stolen laptops can be clearly identified as yours to the police. Another good idea is to store a copy of your laptop's serial number somewhere other than your laptop.
Be certain to set up a BIOS Password on your laptop. Although you can easily replace your hardware, your personal data may take months or years to get back so regularly backup your information.
A theft-recovery system like a LoJack for Laptops can be helpful if you do lose your laptop or have it stolen. With some theft-recovery systems, the computer will automatically call a Monitoring Center once a day, but that can be increased if your computer is stolen. When your computer can check in with the Monitoring Center and they can remove sensitive information by initiating a data delete.