12,000 laptops lost weekly in US airports

Posted by Colleen McNaur on Nov 3, 2009 in Other Tech | 0 comments

Dell released a study that blew my mind. Over 12,000 laptops are lost in US airports each week! Dude, seriously. The study breaks it down: which airports, where in the airport, if the laptops get reclaimed…Dell commissioned the report from Ponemon Institute Look for >”Airport Insecurity, The Case of lost laptops” from June 2008.

Their study included 106 major US airports in 46 states. Of the 12,255 estimated laptops lost each week, only 33% are reclaimed. Over 40% of business traveller respondents didn’t have their data backed up, and 65% admit they didn’t protect or secure the data on their laptop.

That’s scary for a number of reasons when you consider what is on your laptop: client info, confidential business plans, intellectual property, employee info, financial data. Some of this information is protected by law and people whose information is compromised have to be notified. California even has a law that compels this if you do business with anyone in California.

So, next time you fly, double-check that you have your laptop after the security station (40% lost there), the departure gate (23%), restroom (9%),food court (7%), and bar (6%). And backup! Just sayin’.