Quick and Dirty Mobile Security

Current laptops are great devices, they can do anything their desktop counterparts can do with ease, but one area that they really excel in is… getting stolen.

Statistics show a steady increase of laptop theft since 2005 with no signs of slowing down.

Here are some interesting statistics about laptop theft in 2008:

Relevant Data Loss and Data Breach Statistics

1. 1 in 10 …laptop computers will be stolen within the first 12 months of purchase. ²
2. 97% …of lost and stolen notebooks are never recovered. ²
3. 50% …of organizations reported laptop theft. ²
4. every 43 seconds  …a computer is reported stolen. ¹
5. every 3 days … an information security breach is reported in the U.S. ⁴
6. 82% …of all PC’s will be mobile devices by 2008, increasing 4 times as fast as PCs.
7. 4,425 …laptops reported left behind in Chicago taxis during a six month period.
8. 56 million …individuals affected by significant U.S. data security breaches, 2005. ¹
9. 1 billion …PC users expected by 2010, up from 660-670 million today. ³
10. 57% …of corporate crimes are linked to stolen laptops. The latest crimes of espionage and sabotage are theft of executive personnel devices to access vital financial or personnel data. ¹

Data Loss & Data Breach Costs

1. $61,881 …the average loss due to laptop theft.
2. 53% …increase in average losses from laptop theft over 2005. ¹
3. $2 trillion …estimated worldwide losses from consumer & business identity theft, 2005. ¹
4. $116 billion expected spending on security and business continuity worldwide in 2007, growing twice as fast as IT spending. ⁵

Sources: 1) – CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey, 2006; 2) – CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey, 2005; 3) News.com ; 4) ComputerWorld ; 5) IDC.

(data compilation source: http://datarevoke.com/data-loss-stats.cfm)

So, what can you do?

1. Utilize cable locks. Cable locks are an inexpensive and easy way to provide a minimum of security for home, office as well as travel. ALWAYS use a cable lock when staying at a hotel, or keep it in the hotel room safe – if available.

2. Keep mobile devices away from windows. Do not position laptop near windows to prevent smash and grab type of thefts. It sucks bad enough having a laptop stolen – replacing a window is just salt in the wound.

3. Do not store laptops in cars… for obvious reasons, and for a variety of reasons not related to theft (i.e. extreme temperatures. Laptops, like dogs and kids, are known to have a limited shelf life in hot cars.)  If you must keep it in the car, keep it out of sight - preferably in the trunk.

4. Document your equipment. Make sure you have all of your equipments information stored in a remote location to assist with Identification. This should include make, model, specs, serial number, MAC address and any other identifying information that can help police to recover your machine.

5. Install disk encryption. It’s not just equipment you’ll lose, you also risk losing a Pandora’s Box of information about yourself in the form of email, documents, pictures and other data – including passwords etc. You don’t need to encrypt the entire disk but creating an encrypted file that you keep all personal information in can greatly increase the security of your data in the event that your machine is stolen. A great, free disk encryption utility is TrueCrypt. TrueCrypt allows you to encrypt a single file, folder or an entire disk, is free, open source and extremely easy to use. If you plan on giving it a spin, I recommend you read through the documentation and instructions to make sure you have a good understanding of how the software works. It’s also advisable to practice on a couple individual files / folders before attempting an entire drive or partition.

6. Install theft protection software. Ideally this software will track location, activity, current IP and take both screenshots as well as utilize the laptops built in camera to take pictures of the thief. Sound pricey? It shouldn’t… just go download Prey and install it. It’s free, open source and available for Windows, Mac and Linux – as well as a version for Android based mobile devices .