Summer security
Company laptops can contain wealth of information
The summer travel season is in full swing. Many business travelers have packing and getting through airport security and onto the plane down to an art form, so traveling is a breeze for them.
But sometimes even the savviest travelers get a little lax when it comes to security.
Many American business travelers — and even some vacationers, unfortunately — take along their laptops to keep up with work emails and other office matters. But the laptop doesn’t always make it to the airplane.
At Los Angeles International Airport in a single month last year, the Transportation Security Administration found 154 laptops, 98 cellphones and 18 iPads, according to the Los Angeles Times. One way to avoid having to remove your laptop from its case during security — thereby increasing the likelihood of walking away without it — is to apply for TSA PreCheck. Laptops can stay in their cases as people go through screening.
And even for those who keep a handle on their laptops as they move through security, many will likely do some pretty careless things with their laptops during the business trip or the vacation shuffle.
A recent study from AlertSec, which sells encryption technology, on when the biggest cybersecurity threats happen found that 4.3 percent of Americans say they’ve shoved their company laptop into a checked bag. If you’ve ever experienced a lost bag, seriously damaged luggage or a theft in transit, you’ll likely never check your laptop.
And 13.1 percent admitted leaving their laptops in the car, according to AlertSec’s research.
But the biggest risk for your laptop might be when you take a dip in the pool or get up to fetch another latte at the coffee shop. The research found that 13.2 percent of people reported leaving their laptops unattended, which could be tempting for a thief.
If you think that because your laptop is password protected, your information is safe, here are some things to consider:
Password-protected laptops create a false sense of security.
According to AlertSec’s CEO Ebba Blitz, businesses overwhelmingly feel that standard security precautions like lock screen passwords create a false sense of security for laptop and mobile users. The truth is, there are a variety of ways to hack into a password-protected device.
Lost and stolen laptops are one of the ways data is most easily compromised.
About 80 percent of information theft is due to lost or stolen laptops and other equipment. Additionally, about 50 percent of network intrusions are performed with credentials gathered from lost or stolen devices.
Your laptop equals the keys to the kingdom.
The more information we store in the cloud, the more we need to secure the endpoints. Because user names and even passwords are stored in the browser, a hacked laptop could mean giving away all of your online accounts set to “remember you,” easy access to email and bank accounts.
According to Android News, “One look at your browser history, and the new owner of your recently departed laptop will have a lot more information than you’d like.”
Your company is only as strong as its weakest link.
Last summer, thousands of NFL players’ medical records were put at risk when a laptop was stolen. The laptop was password protected but not encrypted. And the reality is that many companies do not ensure their laptops are encrypted until a breach like this takes place.
Many employees of insurance and financial services companies are obligated to leverage thirdparty protection to the highest possible standard, given the sensitive nature of the data to which they have access. But some small firms don’t have an IT department or even someone overseeing their device security.
When they have data breaches, the ramifications are serious. For example, if an accountant’s unencrypted laptop were lost or stolen, tax returns, Social Security numbers and private information could be compromised.
It’s much more than just a lost laptop.
If your laptop is lost or stolen and hackers are able to gain access, it could mean major damage to your employer. A data breach can cost companies millions of dollars.
On average, the cost of a breach hit $4 million per incident last year, up 29 percent from 2013, according to research sponsored by IBM’s security division. In 2015, a similar study found the average cost per breach to be $3.79 million.
For startups or small businesses, the potential monetary impact may not be as high, but scrambling to determine what was accessed and losing proprietary information can be just as devastating.
Blitz says the survey also revealed that most people don’t know about the security tools they are using and can’t guarantee what kind of security software is installed on their own laptops. In fact, more people could guarantee the use of ad blockers and anti-virus protection software than could guarantee that encryption software designed to protect their sensitive, personal data was installed on their machines.
So, take good care of your laptop when you travel, keep an eye on it and ensure your security features are top-notch.