The costs of laptop and device theft can be staggering. The Computer Security Institute’s 2008 Computer Crime & Security Survey found that information breaches cost companies an average of nearly $300,000 a year. According to the study, which surveyed 69 major corporations, 42% of those surveyed experienced laptop theft. The Ponemon Institute estimates that every week, 12,000 laptops are lost or stolen in U.S. airports alone.

The Institute also estimated that robberies cost the average major corporation 640 laptops, 1,985 USB memory sticks, 1,075 smart phones and 1,324 other data devices per year. The institute estimates that each year up to 800,000 memory devices (laptops, smart phones, memory sticks) are lost or stolen.

This year as the recession continues, it is expected that theft will increase dramatically as it has in past recessions. The demand for used computers and parts will also increase as many businesses and consumers less willing to purchase new more expensive systems. This combined with massive layoffs and economic uncertainty will also cause issues for employers as they try to get laptops and mobile phones back from employees who are terminated.  In addition as companies fail tracking devices and sensitive data will be difficult to manage. In essence we have a perfect storm with regards to laptop, as well as mobile phones and other electronic devices.

In a phone conversation with a police detective with the NYPD, there has already been several meetings regarding the increase in violent muggings for mobile phones and laptops in New York City, particularly on subways and other public transit. Theives are not even asking for people’s money, instead they are snatching phones, many times violently and then running off. In some cases the thief uses the information on the phone to commit other thefts as it contains contacts and addresses, phone numbers and personal information that makes identity theft and staged burglaries easier.

Their discussion boards are full of complaints, it is important to note that if you installed Adeona expecting it to protect your computer in the case of thef, it is not working and your system is not protected.  Additionally people have had serious problems uninstalling the software, as it is not an easy process. There is no support for the product, nobody to assist with the recovery and no guarantees that the software will work.

The Daily Mail reported that it was stolen a week ago and police believe that the thieves are unlikely to have known the Duchess’ laptop was on the premises when they broke in and took it. A source close to the Duchess confirmed that it included images of Prince Andrew and the couple’s two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

A source said: “The photographs are of a sensitive nature so she can’t just take them along to her local shop to be printed. It’s just a dreadful coincidence that the laptop was there when the premises were robbed.”

Unconfirmed reports suggest that the laptop was password protected, but gaining access to the data on the machine’s hard disk is child’s play to anyone used to dealing with computer hardware.

I always love it when the company states they think they know the thief’s intentions, I am sure it puts folks mind at ease when it comes to identify theft and someone having access to their medical records.

Thursday HP also announced HP at least several thousand employee records were contained on a laptop that was stolen several months ago from an HP employee based in the Houston area. At first HP thought that there was no sensitive information on the laptop, but after looking into back-up files, the company realized that it contained names and Social Security numbers of current and former employees. This is offensive on many levels, the fact that the company does not even know what is on an employees laptop makes you wonder how many other important details are on their other employee laptops. I am not sure which is worse, having the data unencrypted on a stolen laptop, or HP not knowing what data is on their employees computers, I wonder what IT policies are in place to deal with management of sensitive information, from the looks of it, there isn’t any.

The information on the laptop had data on 704 customers which included the typical “steal my identity” information, with account numbers, Social Security Numbers, tax identification numbers and “specific investment” information.Throughout the report the kept repeating that they do no THINK the data has been compromised or that the thief knows the value of the data on it.

The complete report can be found here.

A case in point. The latest Starbucks laptop theft which we broke last week. A letter was sent to Starbucks employees alerting them to the fact that a laptop was stolen with 97,000 records which included Social Security numbers, names, addresses and who knows what else. The media response was abysmal, with only local news outlets even bothering to write about it. The fact that a well respected corporation had 97,000 unencrypted records on a laptop is just not news anymore. Does this worry you?

Sure the media and most people may be apathetic, but the victims sure are not.  Take Diane Yoder an employee at Starbucks who found our report on the incident who stated “I got the same letter, but have been unable to find anything about it in the press. Is this for real? I am calling corporate tomorrow….”. A victim did a search for information on the laptop theft and only found our story, a few days later there was a short blurb on KOMO news a location station in Seattle, but very little else.

Then there is Rebecca, both her husband and her work for Starbucks and felt first hand what it means to be the victm of a data breach as she said:

It has nothing to do with Starbucks; it happens all the time everywhere, and it can happen to anyone. I am completely on edge about this. I’ve worked for the company for 7 1/2 years, and never in that time have I ever questioned the safety of my information. We have a one year old and one on the way, and I’m concerned how that’s going to reflect our lives if something does happen with our information. As of right now, the information hasn’t been misused; however, there is a black market for this kind of thing. I’m definitely calling corporate tomorrow to find out what they intend to do about this, other than the year of credit monitoring.

So what do you think? Are data breaches and laptop thefts in the media over blowing it? Is there really any concern? Has anyone been a victim of a breach like this and had it influence their lives and/or credit ratings.

To enroll in the face recognition software, the built-in webcam on the laptop scans the face for prime areas, such as the eyes or more conspicuous facial features. The special photo, which does not have to be of high quality, is processed so that the key areas are enhanced and the contrast levels are adjusted to the expectations of the software.

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I own an AT&T Tilt. Recently it was stolen, 3 days later the thief was in jail and I had my phone back. I was working out at the Alaska Club and some one broke into my locker and stole everything I had in there, my wallet, car keys, cell phone, and a birthday present that I had bought for my 2 year old son.

Prior to all of this I had purchased GadgetTrak,  and had it installed to my AT&T Tilt cell phone. I had set up the software and everything so that it would alert my wife as well as my more “private” email account when ever it was turned on.

I gave the information to the Anchorage Police Department that I was getting from the phone (via SMS) to my email account, as well as the GPS positioning of the phone, and the APD was able to locate and collect my phone from the thief as well as arrest him. We are now awaiting our court date to finalize the charges. Sadly the APD was not able to recover the birthday present that I had bought for my son, but at least they were able to put another THIEF behind bars where they belong.

According to the thief he had no idea that the phone was being tracked. The APD has linked him to several other thefts from other Alaska Club locations.

The ONLY reason I am endorsing this product is that it worked, I got my phone back, and the person that stole it was arrested.

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