The study shows that business managers are continuing to ignore laptop security procedures above and beyond encryption. Indeed, even with encryption, most corporations are unable to determine if encrypted data remains secure.

Key findings from the whitepaper:

• 95% of IT practitioners report that someone in their organization has had a laptop lost or stolen
• Of those laptops lost or stolen, 72% resulted in a data breach.
• After a data breach, 0nly 44% of organizations were able to prove the contents were encrypted.
• 33% of IT practitioners believe encryption makes it unnecessary to use other security measures, whereas 58% of business managers believe this to be the case.
• 62% of business managers surveyed strongly agree and agree that encryption stops cyber criminals from stealing data on laptops versus 46% of IT practitioners who strongly agree or agree.
• 36% of business managers surveyed record their encryption password on a private document such as a post-it note to jog their memory or share the key with other individuals. Virtually none of the IT practitioners record their password on a private document or share it with another person.
• 60% of business managers have disengaged their laptop’s encryption solution and 48% admit this is in violation of their company’s security policy.
• 55% of business managers sometimes or often leave their laptop with a stranger when traveling.

You’ll see there are many troubling pieces of information there. Individuals have a false sense of security about their laptop security. Indeed, many individuals appear to ignore laptop security altogether by disengaging encryption or not using safe password practices. Are you using a layered approach to your laptop security? If not, find out how we can help!

Download the whitepapers here.

This school district has learned how to use Computrace to track over 6,000 macbooks, successfully – and securely – implementing a laptop program that supports the education program. You will have a chance to learn about everything from grant approvals to theft rates and even recovery stories!

Head on over here to learn more and to register to watch.

The new feature is called Monitoring Center Initiated Calling (MCIC) allows for a Computrace Agent call to happen as soon as possible, vs waiting for a routine check-in call. The SMS command tells the laptop to phone home. IT administrators can use MCIC so that they can remotely execute Computrace functionality, including location tracking, deletion of sensitive data, and Intel® Anti-Theft Technology locking.

For more about this piece of news, read here.

The story was this: David Krop left 2 laptops in his SUV in a parking garage while he attended a meeting. The computers were stolen and they weren’t even password protected. However, David had a trial access of LogMeIn installed, which allowed him to remotely access his laptop. He was able to use this service to see that his stolen laptop was being used by its alleged thief. By spying on this person, and collecting all his personal information as he browsed the internet (including his face via a video chat), Krop was able to supply information to the police. The police were then able to recover the laptop.

Now, this sounds like a good deal, right? However, it’s a pretty a-typical situation to be in, and does not guarantee laptop recovery. The scenario depended on many factors, including:

• That the unauthorized user did not dismiss the tracking icon that appeared when his laptop activity was being watched
• That the unauthorized user would reveal a wide variety of detailed personal information while using the laptop (phone number, email address, face)
• That the unauthorized user wouldn’t wipe all the existing software off the computer

As you can see, using LogMeIn or other free laptop tracking or remote access services is not the same thing as using a dedicated laptop tracking & recovery program and service such as Computrace or LoJack for Laptops from Absolute Software. Only Absolute has a dedicated Theft Recovery Team to work with police to recover your computer. Our software does not require your to sit around waiting for the alleged thief to supply detailed information about him/herself – all investigations and tracking are done on your behalf.  And you don’t have to hope to talk a police officer into taking on your case – we have existing relationships with local police around the world. Also, most PCs also now have our software at the BIOS level, protecting it from being wiped if software is deleted. So even if a crafty thief that tries to remove the software, the BIOS firmware will make sure its installed.

David Krop has learned his lesson about leaving his laptop in his car. And he now uses remote tracking software. If you aren’t yet set up to track your laptop, check out our theft recovery products here.

Mary Jo Manzanares, a flight attendant and travel writer, has put together a list of in-flight laptop precautions that will make you think twice about when – and how – you use your laptop on the airplane. The tips include:

• Don’t store your laptop in an overhead bin if it’s in a soft case
• Don’t angle your laptop into the aisle
• Close and put away your laptop during service periods, so there’s no risk of a beverage tipping onto it (yours or anyone elses)
• Keep your laptop within your own seat space
• If you leave your seat, close your laptop and put it away or leave it on the seat, not the tray

Other blog posts on travel & laptop security you may wish to read include:

• Tips for Laptops and International Travel
• Airport Laptop Security Tips
• Airport Security-Friendly Laptop Bags
• Airports a threat to laptop security
• Absolute Recovers Laptop After Flight Attendant Loses It En Route

Image: clipart

What is geofencing? A geofence is a virtual perimeter on a geographic area using a location-based service, so that when the geofencing device enters or exits the area a notification is generated. The notification can contain information about the location of the device… – Wikipedia

The Absolute geofencing feature allows IT asset managers to incorporate the physical location of a device into their IT Asset Management strategy. If any device goes outside a pre-set perimeter and stays outside that perimeter for a set period of time, customers would be notified, allowing for a fast response to any suspicious activities, including remotely deleting data and/or reporting the device as stolen.

“By adding geofencing, our customers know sooner when mobile devices may be out of their control, so they can quickly protect the security of those devices.” – John Livingston, CEO of Absolute

Learn more about this new capability here or watch a demo here.

Presumably, you already have Computrace LoJack for Laptops installed. In the event that your laptop is stolen, we can help recover it. Of course, you want to prevent that theft to begin with, so let’s look at some tips for that.

Basic Library Laptop Security Tips

• Permanently mark the exerior of your laptop with your contact information – this may deter thieves, since it makes resale more difficult
• Choose a good laptop lock, and make sure you attach your laptop to a permanent fixture
• Have a study buddy - that way, if either one of you needs to get up, the other can watch the laptops & bags.
• Choose a non-obvious laptop bag – a backpack may not be as obvious to thieves that a laptop is inside. However, opportunistic thieves may take an unattended bag, regardless of its contents
• Don’t leave your laptop unattended at your feet in a bag. If you should become distracted or fall asleep (hey, it happens!), it becomes too easy for someone to take the bag
• Have other security measures in place, such as a laptop alarm and encryption
• If using public wireless connections, be wary of what kind of information – and passwords – could be made available to others! This item is not so much about physical theft, but it can’t hurt to re-iterate its importance.

There is NO foolproof method of securing your laptop if you leave it unattended. The ONLY way to prevent theft is to take your laptop with you anytime you leave your work station – to get a book, to talk to someone or to use the washroom. It is a hassle, but it’s worth it!

These same tips would apply any time you’re out in a public place – be it around the school, in a cafe, or anywhere else. The only difference with the library is that a library may “feel” more safe – because of the secluded study areas. However, in reality, these private study areas make it much easier for someone to walk up and steal your laptop unnoticed if it’s left unattended.

Image: Clipart

With the case of more advanced technology, like we employ at Absolute, the recovery is aided by services such as GPS, keystroke captures, or by internet connections to gather evidence and help determine where the lost device is being used. At Absolute, our recovery team also continues the process until the point when the device is recovered. This is by far the safest route, as you, the customer, never come in contact with the criminals. This also enables law enforcement agencies to prosecute those responsible for thefts.

John Livingston, CEO of Absolute, explains why:

"We will purposefully never reveal a location to a consumer customer. We won’t do it. Once you declare that it’s lost or stolen, we take control over the location at that point. We purposely keep some safe distance between the end user and the thief."

Absolute employs a team of 40 investigators with experience in law enforcement. This team then works closely with local law enforcement agencies to recover stolen devices. If you have sensitive data on your device, you have the option to trigger a remote delete of that data. We’re also working on a way to permanently disable the computers, which will hopefully be another deterrent to theft.

You can learn more about the Absolute recovery process here.

Tips for your Laptop and International Travel:

• If your hotel doesn’t have ethernet or Wi-Fi, a local cafe will. Internet connections won’t be an issue!
• Customs may search your laptop as you bring it into this other country – be sure your hard drive doesn’t have anything that it shouldn’t (this includes private information as well as information that could be considered espionage and pornography)
• You may be required to decrypt any encrypted files for customs. Be prepared to do this.
• Make a back-up of all your data before you leave the country
• If you expect you’ll need any ‘private’ data while abroad, you can store it online in a secure location accessible by FTP or other secure means. You can thus download it once you’ve passed customs.
• If your laptop is new, take receipts – you don’t want your local customs charging you when you return, thinking you bought it abroad!
• Don’t forget to take a voltage adapter on your laptop, as well as preparing a power plug adapter

Don’t forget to check our past blog posts about Laptops in Airports here, here and here. And be sure to beef up the security of your laptop before you go with LoJack for Laptops or Computrace.

Image: clipart

This is the 4th annual study on enterprise encryption, basing the data this year on 997 IT and security practitioners in the US (a UK study is also available). The study looks at trends in encryption use, planning strategies, budgeting, and deployment methodologies in enterprise IT.

Highlights from the study:

• 78% of organizations have an encryption strategy in place (74% in 2008)
• 85% experienced at least one data breach in the last 12 months (84% in 2008)
• 22% experienced >5 data breaches in the last 12 months (13% in 2008)
• 58% say data protection is a very important part of overall risk management
• 59% say encryption of data on mobile devices is very important or important
• 26% indicate they encrypt their smartphone or PDA ‘most of the time’
• 51% have no encryption in place for the smartphone or PDA

I was surprised that the repeat data breach figures had gone up so dramatically, showing perhaps that data breaches are becoming chronic issues in some companies. This could indicate a lack of proactive security planning and risk assessment.

The study does indicate that companies are seeking out encryption solutions to preserve brand and reputation, in addition to mitigating breaches and meeting compliance regulations. This shows, perhaps, that companies are ready to take a more pro-active approach to security planning. Remember, too, that encryption is only a part of the solution to pro-active security planning. Absolute Software can help with other pieces of that puzzle, providing IT Asset Management & Theft Recovery for laptops and mobile devices.

Download the report, for the UK or the US, here.

Via SC Magazine