In a paid study sponsored by Dell the Ponemon Institute has published a report that claims over 10,000 laptops are lost or stolen every WEEK at US airports. Recovery rates are very low, evidently because most people do not even try. Half the laptops, according to the survey, contain confidential corporate information. These data put into perspective the ruckus caused by the infamous stolen laptops at the VA. There are obviously thousands of data loss incidents that are going unreported. (A good thing, the Data Protection Weekly email would be hard to get through if there were 5,000 cases to report on every week!)
How to avoid losing your laptop at the airport security checkpoint? Tips from a 2 million mile man on Northwest:
1. Place your laptop in the first bin you put on the belt of the X-ray machine. You should put your laptop bag in front of it.
Put the bin with your shoes, belt, purse, wallet, etc. right behind your laptop. And your carry-on bag last. The first thing you should do on the other side is put your laptop in its bag before the other luggage crashes into it and dumps it on the floor. Your other stuff separates it from the person behind you and in front of you.
2. Mark your laptop! Put a sticker on it. I know people hate to do this. But you should identify your laptop in such a way that you can quickly identify it. There are lots of Dell computers our there. I have almost picked up the wrong laptop on many occasions. DO NOT TAPE YOUR BUSINESS CARD TO YOUR LAPTOP. Do not become a target by letting potential laptop thieves know just how valuable your laptop may be. My favorite marker for my Dell Latitude is the white Apple sticker I got with my iPod.
3. If you lose your laptop contact the TSA immediately. Call the airport. Take action. I bet in 99% of the cases you can get it back.
OK, question for the Ponemon study authors: Where do all those unclaimed laptops go? Is there a warehouse somewhere with hundreds of thousands of laptops? Does the NSA grab them? Does the TSA sell them on eBay?
Richard Stiennon is a security industry analyst. He is currently consulting, speaking and writing on all manner of security topics for IT-Harvest, the IT research firm he founded to cover the security space. He was most recently chief marketing officer for Fortinet. He has served stints at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Gartner, and Webroot Software.
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how to avoid laptop loss
First the advice, then the reasons.
Use a stensil and spraypaint onto your laptop, BOTH sides, "This laptop is property of (your name)".
Use an easily seen color, such as bright green or red, and letters at least 3/4" tall.
Now my reason: this is exactly what an academic department did at an institution near me (using white paint):
"Property of Department of , University of ".
Yes, it was ugly, but they lost NO hardware, whereas other, more fastidious departments did.
I would not suggest putting
I would not suggest putting any personal identifiers on the case of a laptop. This gives valuable information to the thief that could be used to socially engineer retrieving a login password from a corporate helpdesk.
Using asset tags, such as your university did, is a better alternative.
...so what if it's ugly-it's not as much a target!
Believing that majority of stolen laptops are fenced by quick-cashers and not data thieves -and- considering the practical corporate life of a laptop to be even less than its warranty period, my place of employment opts for a permanent (locking cable) anchor point affixed to top cover rather than relying on the typically flimsy cable slot and the cable lock you forgot to carry. It may make it as ugly as a wort hog yet that may be exactly what prevents it from becoming a statistic.
And speaking of wait time in airports: with a proliferation of wireless choices to boost productivity while waiting for your next flight, why not make it a practice to cable your beloved laptop to waiting area's immovable furniture? Using the above suggestion along with knowing the peace of mind that an encrypted drive & screen reentry p/w gives, will allow for a brief jaunt over to waiting area counter. Your laptop will actually be much safer there out in the open where you've asked your neighboring traveler to keep an eye on it than between your legs at counter or in a rest area, for even more than x-ray stations, these have become coveted vectors for today's highly motivated airport thieves.
Airport Laptop Loss
So, if laptops are being stolen at the security checkpoint, or after the laptops pass through into a secure area who the heck are the thieves? Fellow passengers? Airport employees?
some of the thieves work for airport security
A colleague of my husband recently had his laptop taken when he went to retrieve it from the other side of the xray machine, after he had been pulled out of the line to be searched. (We think it was at Miami airport.) When he noted that his laptop was missing the officials said that they didn't know where it was. Our friend didn't take this lying down. He kept insisting that they start looking for it right there, and refused to go away... and it paid off. He probably was throwing a cog in their wheel of processing passengers. Suddenly, they "found" his laptop.... we travel often, and it was the first we've heard of this.... a chilling development...
hi
Hi
This is a wonderful opinion. The things mentioned are unanimous and needs to be appreciated by everyone
scott
Laptop Fanatic
A Different Approach
I would suggest NOT putting your laptop in the first bin, but in the second or another bin in the middle of your line of things. This way, if you are delayed from getting to it by your screening process (say, if the detecter goes off), it could prevent any potential thief ahead of you from taking it easily. The first thing(s) you put there acts as a buffer between you and the person ahead of you and the laptop stays closer to you in line.
You can still get to the laptop first when you reclaim your things (thus preventing it from getting banged up, but it is in the bin, which helps). I've known two people who got their laptops stolen by sending them through first. When you're distracted at the detector, the laptop is vulnerable. Try to keep your eye on it at all times.
For Mac users try "Undercover" by Orbicule
I have a program called "Undercover" by Orbicule installed on all my computers. It makes me feel pretty safe. I think it's only for Macs.
Use an antitheft bag
Whilst it won't stop your laptop getting taken from the security line, an anti-theft laptop bag from Pacsafe.com will help avoid opportunistic theft.
Labeling it / Lost & Found Service
I just label my laptop and other valueable assets with a sticker from BEFAIRY with an anonymous information for the finder. So I don´t offer thefts or hackers any personal information. If it has been found I can recognize my property or even I get an information from BEFAIRY-Service and can contact the finder.
That´s a really valueable service - and it works worldwide.