US NOTEBOOK COMPUTER TRACKING,RECOVERY & DATA PROTECTION Processor Editorial Article - Notebook Tracking, Recovery & Data Protection:

Notebook Tracking, Recovery & Data Protection
Don’t Leave The Enterprise Without It


To the enterprise, the data being carried on a company laptop is like precious cargo, not to mention the laptop itself. According to Symantec (www.symantec.com), a laptop is stolen every 53 seconds in the United States, and according to the FBI, an astounding 98% of them are never recovered. With those odds, and the recurring wave of high-profile notebook thefts, notebook tracking and recovery and advanced data protection are clearly not getting the attention they deserve.

The Statistics

Jason Roberts, marketing manager for PC Guardian, says the statistics he sees show the growth of computer theft at 20% a year. “These thefts,” he says, “have resulted in all sorts of data and identity theft issues that have spawned state and federal legislation to protect consumers. Unfortunately, it takes actual thefts, as well as legislation, to get some companies to react.”

Eric Skinner, vice president of product management at Entrust, says many companies are reacting to the wave of news stories about lost laptops by encrypting the data on them, but the majority, he says, are still doing nothing. Skinner says, “I think that it’s still not widely understood how easily laptop encryption can be rolled out. It’s one of the most invisible and deployable security solutions you can find. Unlike lots of other security tools that require users to take special steps or impact the user experience, laptop encryption is invisible.”

Entrust’s Entelligence Disk Security is one example of a laptop/desktop data encryption solution that protects data through full disk encryption, authorization, and strong user authentication. Another popular laptop encryption software, ComputraceComplete, manufactured by Absolute Software, promotestheft deterrent by locating a laptop, monitoring its use, and noting what hardware and software changes are being made.

John Livingston, CEO for Absolute Software, says the issue is definitely not getting the attention it deserves. He says, “This is due to a number of key factors. First, the focus has been primarily on how to deal with the symptoms of a security breach once it has occurred instead of the root cause of the problem—theft. Second, many companies try to use traditional IT asset management systems to safeguard remote and mobile computers.”

Livingston says these systems aren’t very good at tracking mobile assets. He notes that they can usually tell what is on a system but are unable to correlate that information to where the system is or who is using it. He says the ability to do this is paramount for effective data protection and regulatory compliance. “Most current regulations do not require public notice oftheft or data loss if the data is encrypted, so it’s a simple stop-gap measurement that many companies are implementing. Education is another critical factor; people don’t know all the solutions available to them and what best practices to employ.”

Livingston says if a laptop is stolen, the ramifications of a company security breach can be disastrous. He notes, “The legal and financial implications of a security breach could cost significantly more than the dollars required for preventative solutions. Corporations are just beginning to realize how these occurrences could damage their reputation, revenue, and public trust.”

Roberts notes that a Ponemon Institute study done last year found the average cost to a company experiencing data breach from astolen computer (or network breach), to be about $5 million in direct costs. He says, “Costs can include notifying victims, staffing hotlines, hiring public relations firms to manage inquiries, paying for affected customers to have their credit monitored, and damage to company reputations.”

The Protection

With these things in mind, small to midsized enterprises can put policies and procedures in place to make sure their notebooks are tracked and secured and easier to recover. But Skinner says companies can’t rely on employees to take manual steps to protect sensitive data. He says, “An automatic, invisible solution such as full disk encryption is the only way to get provable compliance. We’ve seen a lot of companies try to solve the data breach problem by educating users and setting security policy, but the bottom line is that it doesn’t work. Users make mistakes, and manual steps get in the way of the real work that needs to be done. The easiest way to ensure that all laptop data is encrypted is to roll out disk encryption and use a proven vendor that provides central audit and reporting.”

Livingston says enterprises must take a 360-degree approach to ensure that their mobile computers are tracked and secured. He says, “In the event of security breach, it’s imperative to have the tools for recovery of the device and/or the data. This approach involves a combination of policy, people, and products. Absolute Software has outlined Corporate Best Practices to address this exact issue.”

Absolute Software’s best practices consist of a combination of written policies, business processes, and technology. Some of these best practices include documenting common-sense guidelines on device security and laptop use; mandating data protection on local, mobile, and remote devices; and protecting all laptops and mobile devices.

From PC Guardian’s perspective, Roberts says to believe in preventive measures first. He says, “Small to medium-sized companies need to start thinking like big companies and have an overall security policy, the staff in place to enforce it, and cross-departmental plans in place to react quickly should atheft or data breach occur. Like any theft, the sooner you react, the better your chances are for recovery.”

Roberts says policies that require everyone to lock down his computer, no matter where he is, should be the easiest and least expensive first layer of security to implement. “Once users get in the habit,” he says, “it becomes second nature. And yes, companies should have their machines tagged and hard drives encrypted to help track the system and protect the data should one getstolen . The more important the data on the system, the more layers of security are needed.” Roberts says PC Guardian’s task is to make the physical security layer of that overall policy as seamless as possible.

Roberts adds, “Some companies think that if their laptops are password-protected and hard drives encrypted, they are protected. But thieves are very clever at bypassing some of these safeguards.” He continues, “With the rapid growth in Wi-Fi networks, inexpensive laptopcomputers , and fewer employees required to maintain 9 to 5 office hours, we have an increasingly mobile computing workforce that presents new security challenges for IT managers. Workers take their laptops everywhere and, in addition to the network security issues,computer theft is an issue. So now other industries besides the obvious ones (banking, insurance, and healthcare) are enforcing antitheft security measures.”

by Chris A. MacKinnon


Tools For Protecting Your Notebook

Product	Description	URL
Absolute ComputraceComplete	A small, stealthy, and tamper-resistant client application that reports detailed information using minimal bandwidth; the laptop reports changes in asset information on a daily basis, regardless of its location	www.absolute.com
The CyberAngel	A comprehensive IT security solution (for laptops, desktops, and tablets) that includes unique hardware tracking and recovery and data protection; the CyberAngel’s patented technology silently transmits an alert to the company’s Security Monitoring Center and identifies the location from which thecomputer is calling	www.thecyberangel.com
Entrust Entelligence Disk Security	Provides comprehensive laptop and desktop security capabilities that can automatically protect the entire contents of a hard disk from unauthorized access through full disk encryption	www.entrust.com
PC Guardian Ezolution Classic	A lightweight, easy-to-use lock and key security option for laptops and office equipment with security slots	www.pcguardian.com