RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
Recovering stolen laptops one step at a time
Neil Spellman, Contributor
10.21.2008
Rating: -4.47- (out of 5)
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Late last year, a laptop was stolen from a student's car at Worcester Polytechnic Institute outside of Boston. Fortunately, when the student had purchased his laptop, he also purchased tracking software, which allowed university police to track and locate the computer. Within a few weeks, the student had his laptop back, and the thieves (along with several other stolen laptops) were in police custody. How the IT department, working in concert with the police, recovered the laptop is a worthy example of how adaptive software can assist in a laptop recovery effort and what can be done to deter theft of small electronic devices.
According to the FBI, approximately 2 million laptops are stolen each year. Even worse, only 2% are recovered. Depending on the data stored on the laptop, this can really get complicated for IT departments. It is not unlike losing one's wallet, except the wallet in this case could be the size of a box truck. And inside that box truck is everything from customers' names and billing information to the CEO's credit card number.
The easiest laptop to recover is one that never gets nabbed in the first place, so it's wise to take steps to prevent devices from walking away. Here's a list of a few best practices to keep laptops from being stolen:
When a device theft or loss takes place, it's of paramount importance to follow a template or a standard operating procedure. This means ha
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ving such a procedure in place before any theft occurs. A few steps that should be involved are as follows:
In the case of the theft at Worcester Polytechnic, it was important that the investigators knew immediately that the theft had occurred; the owner reported the loss within hours rather than days. The student had also thought to install tracking software on his notebook, which enabled Computrace to track the laptop and assist in the recovery.
It's important to note, however, that it was not a matter of simply putting information down on a form and letting the justice system take its course. As the Network Security Analyst, I had to explain the probable cause so those in law enforcement -- and eventually the Clerk Magistrate and the Grand Jury -- could understand how the theft could be linked to the individual thief.
Though it's true that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure in information security, it's still a good idea to have the pound of cure ready just in case.
About the author:
Neil Spellman is a network security analyst at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and was formerly a WPI police officer. He has a B.S. and is a graduate of the Massachusetts State Police Academy. For 20 years, he was a senior investigator for the Massachusetts Bureau of Special Investigations. Additionally, he serves on the board of directors for the Boston chapter of Infragard.
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