Laptop Theft & History

You can take several key steps to protect both your laptops and your data. By adopting these measures, you'll greatly reduce your risk of losing key hardware and data. Laptops have become increasingly attractive targets for identity thieves, too. A 2006 Ponemon Institute study reported an 81 percent increase in the number of companies reporting stolen laptops between 2005 and 2006.

Laptops have become increasingly attractive targets for identity thieves, too. A 2006 Ponemon Institute study reported an 81 percent increase in the number of companies reporting stolen laptops between 2005 and 2006. Even notebooks that never leave the office can be targets, as many thefts are inside jobs.

Track Your Laptop With an ID

The first step is to slap an ID tag on each laptop, BlackBerry, digital camera, and USB key your business owns, and record it with a recovery service. An astonishingly large number of businesses never record even the serial numbers of their equipment, police say, making it impossible for authorities to reunite found items with their rightful owners.

he services have you register each item on the Web, with identifying information; then they contact you to arrange return if an item is found. The price is nominal, usually around $5-$10 per label, with quantity discounts. Vendors that offer labeling and recovery services include ArmorTag, BoomerangIt, StuffBak, TrackItBack, YouGetItBack.com, and zReturn.

Rely on Recovery Software

If a thief steals your laptop, tracking and recovery software can help you get it back. Absolute Software's ComputraceComplete ($50 per year), Brigadoon's PC PhoneHome ($30 lifetime), Inspice's Inspice Trace ($30/year), XTool's Laptop Tracker ($40 per year for Small Business Edition) and zTrace Technologies' zTrace Gold ($50 per year) are tracking utilities that connect periodically to a central server.

Back Up and Encrypt Your Data

Encrypting data on laptops and on USB drives is relatively easy these days, thanks to numerous inexpensive security tools (see "Lock Down the Data on Your Portable Drives") that provide military-grade encryption. But these programs are only as effective as their users allow them to be, so make sure that your business's employees understand how to take care of their equipment. For instance, instead of letting a laptop sleep during travel, they should shut it down completely, thereby locking the drive.

Educate Your Employees

* Never leave your laptop unguarded in a hotel or conference room. Protect it by using a cable lock or a hotel safe. If neither of these is available, take the laptop with you.
* At the office, lock portables in a special drawer or safe when you go home for the night.
* Never leave a laptop bag on a car seat in plain view. Always lock it in the trunk--but do so out of the sight of others in the parking lot.
* Triple-guard your bag at airports (one of the most common theft locations). When waiting at a gate, place your bag between your feet.