The Cost of Laptop Theft

Imagine, if you will, that you are the executive of a major international mega-corp who is giving a presentation to a group of American Business Editors and Writers. After delivering a successful speech to the group, you move about the crowd, taking questions. Meanwhile, your laptop sits happily up on the podium you used to deliver your presentation. When you return to the podium, you discover that in the few short minutes that you've been away, someone has pinched your laptop. Sound improbable? This actually happened last September to Irwin Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm.

The theft in itself was bold, but not totally surprising. What was, however, interesting to note was Jacob's candidness about the data stored on his laptop. Several witnesses reported that he stated that the laptop had contained highly sensitive data that could be of great value to foreign governments. At the time, Qualcomm was in negotiations with several of China's telecomm providers to license their CDMA cellular technology.

Was Jacob's foolish for bringing a laptop containing mission critical confidential data to an insecure public location? Yes. Is he alone? Definitely not. In 1998, 520 security experts responded to a Computer Security Institute survey, the results were quite revealing. Laptop theft ranked second to viruses as the biggest computer crime that they had to deal with. According to a report released by the Safeware Insurance Group, "approximately 387,000 notebook PCs were stolen in 2000, up about 20 percent from an estimated 319,000 in 1999." Further, it was estimated that at least 57 percent of businesses in the year 2000 incurred losses from computer equipment theft.

Of course, not all laptop thefts are committed in an attempt to grab valuable proprietary information, some laptop thieves head straight to the pawn shop. However, according to William Malik, vice president and information-security research director for market researcher Gartner Group, informal surveys indicate that about 10 percent to 15 percent of those laptops are stolen by criminals intent on selling the data. Indeed, in the case of Qualcomm CEO Jacobs, while his hardware was estimated at about $4000, the information carried upon it was thought to be worth millions.

What Can I do to Protect My Laptop?

So given the risk of laptop theft and the potential losses that laptop theft can cause, what are some of the steps that individuals and organizations can implement to prevent it.

Cables

One of the cheapest and most cost effective solutions to deter thieves is to attach a security cable to your laptop. In most cases, the very fact that you have made the effort to physically secure the laptop to an immobile object will be enough to cause a potential thief to look for easier prey. Before you start shopping around for a security cable, there are a few important items to know:

1. •Does your laptop have a Universal Security Slot (USS)? Roughly 80 percent of the laptops currently produced come with a place to attach your security cable to the laptop chassis. If your laptop supports this, you should use it.
   

2. •If your laptop does not have a USS, does the cable come with some form of adhesive pad with which you can securely attach the cord to? While using an adhesive pad may not be ultimately as effective as attaching the cable to your laptop chassis, you should not discount it entirely. Many electronics retailers currently use some form of adhesive contact sensors on many of their display models to prevent theft.
   

3. •While buying a good sturdy cable is important, make sure that the lock itself is sturdy. Tubular cylinder locks are preferred to tumbler locks as fewer thieves are readily equipped to pick the cylindrical variety.