Study Shows People Have Lost $2.1 Billion Worth of Laptop PCs
A new survey shows that U.S. businesses and other organizations are losing billions of dollars due to lost and stolen laptop computers. Yet, two-thirds do not take advantage of even basic security practices, such as encryption, back-up and anti-theft technologies. Somewhat surprisingly, the study confirmed that 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.
The study analyzed the three major environments where workers most often part company with their laptops: transportation sites, for example, in airports, train stations or taxis; seemingly safe off-site locations, such as homes, other companies’ conference rooms or hotel rooms; and their own offices. While most might suspect that transportation venues see the biggest toll in missing laptops, only one-third go astray there. It is the commonly considered benign off-site locations where the most a little over 40 percent laptops are lost or stolen. Workers’ offices are the sites for 12 percent of laptop disappearances. Another 12 percent vanished without explanation. Only 5 percent of all lost laptops are ever recovered.
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