Securing Your Laptop

chrisr — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:46:00 GMT

I recently read an article on Dark Reading web site that talked about the loss of laptops in airports. According to the report approximately 12,000 laptops a year are lost in airports. This represents a significant loss of not only hardware but also information. Considering most people who travel for business are customer facing individuals for their company. They store an array of information on their laptops which could range from customer sales information to sensitive legal documents. The loss of this information can be a significant impact to the organization. There are a number of well documented cases of medical records, military records and credit card data being extracted from stolen laptops. I have three recommendations to minimize the impact of laptop loss.

First is to use encryption. While having a password may seem adequate protection against some one trying to access the data, iIt is pretty easy to get around this password protection. You simply remove the hard drive from the system and connect it to another system as a drive. From there it is a simple matter of accessing the files on the drive. Windows 2000 and above operating systems provide some level of encryption. Using this encryption will provide some level of deterrence against some one trying to pull data from your hard drive. In Windows 2000 and Windows XP you can use EFS to encrypt a file or directory. Using this technology, if a thief attempts to open you encrypted file they will not have the ability to read the contents. One caution here is that given enough time and resources, a thief could break the encryption. Windows Vista kicks it up a notch when it comes to drive protection. Using the Bitlocker Drive Encryption, you can encrypt the entire drive making it very difficult to extract information from the drive. Before using any of these technologies, read the documentation and do some planning. There nothing like you losing the keys to your own data.

Second is to backup your data. One side of losing your laptop is who may see your data but the other side is you won't have your data any more. Backup is the best defense against losing your data. For travelers, backing you data up to a file share or collaboration application may not be the best strategy based on the connectivity back to corporate. Using small USB or Flash drives is a cheap way to back your critical data in case of laptop lose. Windows 2000 and above do have a backup tool that makes it easy to back up data to a USB/Flash drive. Or you can simply use the good old fashion copy method. Just make sure you keep your drive in a separate location such as your checked or carry on luggage. If some one steals you laptop bag, then the backup is worthless.

Third use a laptop security cable. Hotels and other areas are prime targets for laptop theft. Using a security cable will help deter some thiefs from stealing the laptop. In an airport scenario, locking your laptop to those very comfortable airport chairs may not be the best decision when that boarding announcement comes but you could do it. Here is my unique solution to using a laptop security cable in an airport situation. Take one end cable, loop it around a belt loop on your pants and lock the other end to the laptop. That way when you jump up to be the first in line when the announcement is made, you won't leave without your laptop because it will be attached to you. (writer assumes no responsibility for loss of pants or exposing your underwear). I'm predicting this solution will reduce the number of lost laptops at airports.

Laptop loss is a major pain in the tail end and could be an embarressment to you and your company. By taking the right precautions, you can minimize the impact of loosing you laptop by encrypting critical data and backing it up.

Securing Your Infrastructure : laptop loss theft encryption backup

Securing Your Laptop