Although most criminals steal laptops to turn a quick buck from a cash sale, a growing number of thieves have discovered the value of mining data from stolen hard drives. Laptop thefts can quickly escalate from frustrating inconveniences to serious privacy breaches. Security experts advise laptop owners to take measures that:
Prevent theft,
Minimize data exploitation, and
Facilitate laptop recovery.The following list of seven security guidelines not only minimizes the threat of laptop theft, it can keep sensitive personal data off the growing black market.
According to law enforcement officials, most laptop thefts occur from desks or docking stations instead of from cars or airport terminals. In many cases, intruders dressed like office workers find ways to roam around office buildings and college campuses. Some brazen criminals become so good at blending in that they often become mistaken for IT repair professionals. Although laptop locks will not prevent all brute force thefts, they encourage common thieves to move along to an easier target.
Many laptop owners fail to realize that the collections of software and music often dwarf the value of their hardware. Keeping a hidden, hard copy log of hardware and software serial numbers can speed up insurance claims and criminal investigations. More importantly, many software publishers allow users to activate software on a new computer using a previous serial key. In some cases, especially with many Microsoft products, reactivation can disable features on a stolen machine, making it more likely to be abandoned by a thief.
With prices for data storage dropping significantly, laptop owners have few excuses for making routine backups to external hard drives. Tiny portable drives can be stored in wall safes, fire vaults, or even in bank safe deposit boxes. Storing a backup volume safely away from a laptop can minimize the effects of data theft, while also providing security against physical damage.
Every computer operating system offers a feature that limits data access to users with authorized passwords. Typing in a password may seem like a hassle for some users, but the practice can radically reduce the risk of data breaches and identity theft. Since many thieves will quickly abandon or sell a password-protected laptop, this practice can often speed up the recovery process.
Users working at companies prone to IP theft can add another layer of laptop security. Data encryption tools require a secondary password to unscramble files or entire hard drives during each user session. Data thefts from banks, colleges, and government agencies could have been avoided by implementing this second line of defense.
For laptop owners who crave even more piece of mind, a variety of subscription monitoring systems offer clever ways of tracking down stolen equipment. A typical service, like those offered by LoJack, LapTrak, and Advatrack, reports the location of a missing laptop to loss prevention professionals who can dispatch local law enforcement. Some subscribers report the satisfaction of hearing how thieves were surrounded by police officers at coffee shops and other public internet hot spots while enjoying their ill-gotten gains.
Finally, law enforcement officials often remark that laptop owners can take the best precaution against theft: simply carrying a laptop with them on the road. Leaving a laptop on the seat of a car offers an invitation to passing criminals. Likewise, a surprising number of laptop thefts occur when users leave their devices unattended in public places, such as cafes and libraries. With laptops becoming lighter and computer sleeves becoming even more fashionable, users have even more motivation to keep their machines by their sides.