| Corporations spend billions of dollars each year | | | | rationale for use of such software: Regardless of |
| repeating the same message over and over. It's | | | | the impact it has on outside criminals, it is certain |
| called advertising and it works. A similar approach, | | | | to chill internal theft simply because employees will |
| according to a recent Processor story, stands the | | | | know that it is there. |
| best chance of slowing the never ending tide of | | | | This PC World story reports on a product that is |
| stolen laptops: Keep telling employees that they | | | | available in the UK. It is a modern-day equivalent |
| have to guard their machines, and keep telling | | | | of the prologue from the old Mission: Impossible |
| them how to do it. | | | | television show, in which the tape detailing the |
| Security, of course, is not at the forefront of | | | | ridiculous assignment Jim and the gang will pull off |
| every employee's mind. Indeed, people take dumb | | | | in 60 minutes (minus commercials) starts burning |
| chances. They leave machines unattended when | | | | seconds after delivery its message. In this case, |
| they go to the rest room in a public venue. They | | | | Virtuity's BackStopp will wipe data off hard disks |
| leave them lying on the front seat of an unlocked | | | | if the machine is taken from an unauthorized area. |
| car when they run into a store. The theme of the | | | | The surveillance is done via the Internet, Wi-Fi or |
| Processor piece is that continually drilling best | | | | Global System for Mobile communication or radio |
| practices and corporate policies into the heads of | | | | frequency identification if the laptop is turned off. |
| employees may gradually mitigate this behavior. | | | | The story adds that if a machine has a Webcam, |
| It's important because the problem is so big: The | | | | it can be instructed to take a picture of the |
| Safeware Insurance Agency reports that more | | | | presumptive thief and transmit it to the central |
| than 600,000 machines are stolen annually. About | | | | office. The data destruction procedures, which |
| $5.4 billion in proprietary information is lost, and 97 | | | | meet standards set by the U.S. Department of |
| percent of the purloined machines are lost | | | | Defense's National Industrial Security Program |
| forever. | | | | Operating Manual, occur without alerting the thief. |
| The story also provides advice on issues | | | | A somewhat similar initiative, this one in India, is |
| tangentially related to stopping theft, such as the | | | | Locate Laptop from Unistal Systems. The |
| importance of management systems to track | | | | software reports its location whenever it logs on. |
| machines and the use of strong passwords and | | | | Thus, the owner or his or her company visit a |
| other strategies to thwart criminals when they do | | | | Web portal to get a fix on a stolen machine. The |
| succeed in stealing the machines. | | | | IT Nerd provides a lot of useful links: iAlertU, |
| The problem of companies not even knowing if a | | | | Laptop Alarm, Lojack For Laptops and, for |
| machine is lost or stolen goes hand-in-hand with | | | | physically securing a laptop, Kensington Cable. The |
| theft prevention. The centerpiece of a recent | | | | writer concludes that the best way to stop laptop |
| Canadian Technology News story is a study by | | | | theft is cutting down the amount of time the |
| Absolute Software that spotlights some disturbing | | | | machine is left unattended. |
| malfeasance by respondents: 62 percent say that | | | | There is good news and bad news in all this. The |
| missing computers aren't even noticed and | | | | good news is that there is a lot of technology |
| another 20 percent say that nothing is done | | | | aimed at securing, managing, finding and, when |
| about breaches. | | | | necessary, disabling laptops. The bad news is that |
| Innovative tools are available, however. The bulk | | | | there are many people stealing laptops - and |
| of the piece describes how Absolute Software | | | | many corporate workers who are not paying |
| tracks, manages and recovers wayward | | | | attention. |
| computers. The story provides a common-sense | | | | |