A new survey shows US businesses and other organizations are losing
billions of dollars due to lost and stolen laptop computers.
But two-thirds of the organizations surveyed do not take advantage
of even basic security practices, such as encryption, backup, and
anti-theft technologies, the study says.
"
The Billion Dollar Lost-Laptop Study," conducted by Intel
and the Ponemon Institute, analyzed the scope and circumstances of
missing laptop PCs. The survey found the 329 organizations polled
had collectively lost more than 86,000 laptops.
In a previous study, Ponemon Institute calculated that lost
laptops, on average, cost enterprises an average of USD 49,246 each
in lost data, lost hardware, lost productivity, and breach
notification/remediation. Using that figure, Intel and Ponemon
calculate that the 86,000 lost laptops cost the 329 enterprises
approximately USD 2.1 billion.
The chance of workers misplacing their laptops -- or having them
stolen -- is between 5 and 10 percent during that PC's three-year
lifespan, the study says.
The primary methods of keeping mobile PCs safe –- hard disk
encryption, data backup, and anti-theft technologies -- are far
from pervasive, according to the study. While 46 percent of the
lost systems contained confidential data, only 30 percent of those
systems were encrypted, and only 10 percent had any other
anti-theft technologies. Nearly three quarters of laptops lost were
not backed up.
According to the study, thieves made off with only 25 percent of
the missing laptops, though they were suspected in another 15
percent of cases. The rest -- 60 percent -- were logged as simply
missing.
Experts say most enterprises understand the likelihood of laptop
theft, but many do surprisingly little to respond.
"Laptops are the greatest risk that I find in my security
assessments," says Kevin Beaver, an independent consultant and
expert witness for Principal Logic. "It's amazing to me that
companies spend millions on vulnerability assessment, but let their
employees walk around with unprotected laptops."