Creative Laptop Security Training

I’ve previously written about some creative techniques for laptop security training in the office (see: Mission: Laptop Security, Guerilla marketing security campaign), but this one trumps those in terms of impact. This technique is sure to be remembered – and that’s rather the point.

Augusto Quadros Paes de Barros wrote on Security Balance about visiting a company whose employees work almost exclusively on laptops. Each employee is given a laptop security cable, as part of their security training, but the unique aspect comes into play when the cable is forgotten.

When an employee forgets to use the security cable, an IT support employee will “steal” the laptop and leave a note in its place. The note would indicate that the laptop had not been stolen, but was taken to another room to illustrate how easily it could have been stolen. Granted a security cable isn’t the end-all solution to laptop security. It’s a theft deterrent and should be used with other security measures, like a theft recovery service. But if you’re a thief and have a choice of stealing one with or without a cable – you’d probably go for the one without.

Comments on his post indicate that this practice has been used by other companies, some of which place the laptop in the boss’ office. Another incentive not to get “caught.”

What do you think of this technique?