Protecting your laptop from data theft

The crumbling prices of laptop are set to bring in fresh problems, just as mobile phones. Now protect your laptops from the peering eyes of the underworld that are forever looking for new targets?

As computer sizes shrink they should be the more attractive targets for the violent street criminals. And then, what about your own aggressive and rapacious competitor, who would like to know what you have packed in your machine? While the former may be downright dishonest, the latter's curiosity can sometimes be more devastating to your business. In either case, you need to ensure that your handy companion, which the laptop has become, does not fall into the wrong hands.

Rising theft graph                                                                                                                                          Global trends point to a rising graph of laptop thefts. Not surprising, therefore, was the recent decision of the popular security Web site, www.silicon.com, to run a series of articles on this growing menace.

We in India are yet to wake up to the hard reality that laptops are going to be hot property for the average criminal of our times.

Both potential victims and law enforcement in our country are distressingly ill prepared for the challenge. They seem complacent because dependable statistics are not yet available.

In contrast, not a week passes without the media in the West, especially technology magazines, reporting a sensational laptop theft in some organisation or the other. The latest victim that know of is the prestigious UK retailer chain Marks and Spencer. It recently lost valuable data (names, salary details, addresses, insurance information, etc) on the nearly 26,000 of its workforce. These had been handed over in a laptop to a printing firm which was to write to individual BBC employees on pension changes, and the machine was stolen from the firm. Described as an 'opportunity theft' and not one specifically targeting the particular laptop, the crime, nevertheless, revealed a major chink in the armour of organizations that have to deal with an outside agency in the processing of their data. Incidentally, this is exactly the kind of danger that many US and UK corporations apprehend while outsourcing work to Indian firms, although such apprehension is largely unfounded.

Wake-up call                                                                                                                                                 Figures coming out of the Metropolitan Police in London especially should be enough to wake us up from our slumber. During 2006, London reported about 15,000 laptops. This was 6,000 more than the previous year, and if one took also into account burglaries, during which laptops have been lifted, the figure could look more formidable. In simple terms, one out of every 500 Londoner living in the Met's jurisdiction is vulnerable. Given London's size and its pre-eminence in the world of finance, one may safely predict the numbers to go up this year. Naturally, Met officers are a worried lot.

As one study has found, they have to be especially on guard on Fridays. The last working day of a week is the time when laptop-toting executives relax their own vigil much to the delight of those looking for their prey. If the route home for a weary professional is dotted by pubs, there cannot be a greater recipe for disaster! This is saying the obvious. But it carries so much wisdom that many of us will ignore it at our peril.

The story is not very different on the other side of the Atlantic. The most recent incident in the US is the theft reported from the Chicago Public School system which lost two of its computers very recently from its downtown facility. The data (names and Social Security numbers) pertained to 40,000 current and former employees. According to one estimate, the fabled Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) itself loses three to four laptops a month.

Some key dos and don'ts                                                                                                                             Learned treatises have been prepared on laptop security. Some deal with commonsense. The others advocate technology to keep predators away. As in other forms of crime, there is no substitute for target hardening. Do not leave your machine unattended even for a second. Carry it everywhere, even if it would mean it keeping company with you in the loo! This may sound funny. In some airport or the other every other day, and airports these days are perhaps more crowded than railway stations, providing extraordinary criminal opportunities. A chain to fasten the laptop to your furniture is often recommended. It is effective but is cumbersome.

An interesting finding is that a branded laptop bag is an invitation to disaster. Commonsense dictates that as far as possible carry your machine in an inconspicuous backpack, which is normally a less attractive proposition for those looking for expensive items to spirit away.

As laptop prices come down, it is more the information carried in the machine that is most important. Experts are unanimous that encryption of all that you store is the ultimate answer. The cold fact, however, is that very few companies opt for this. Encryption is not only complicated. It is expensive and adds to your costs. The alternative is to have rigid guidelines on what could be stored in a laptop or what cannot. As a rule, sensitive information is not for a laptop that you carry all over the countryside. Some prudent companies demand their employees to treat their laptops as a dumb terminal with which to access valuable data through a browser and VPN.

Thwarting the thief                                                                                                                                       Equally important is how to frustrate or track down a thief once he is in illegal custody of your laptop. A heavily password-protected machine will be of great help. Also biometric access to it is useful, even if it is expensive. Most impressive is the software that enables you to hunt for the laptop and locate it when used unauthorisedly. Once such software is installed in your laptop, there is every chance you will be able to disable it before great damage is done by the culprit. This is provided the laptop is used to get connected to the Web.

Another piece of software that is available is the one that can be used to delete data on a stolen laptop that should not become compromised in the hands of a thief. I am sure there are umpteen other software packages that tackle the problem of preventing theft of information from a hijacked laptop. Ultimately, however, it is the quality of care that the owner bestows on his laptop that will make the difference.