Unprotected Laptops: The Million Dollar Gamble

How Much Can Your Company Afford to Lose?

I. Introduction

A laptop is stolen every 53 seconds1. Considering the hard drive alone, estimated in 2007 to contain between $1 million and $8 million2 worth of commercially sensitive data, plus the possibility of additional millions in liability for a data breach – the costs are staggering. So how should companies and organizations feel about asset and data protection? They should be alarmed and take action…

With so much at stake, why are so many businesses allowing their employees to risk exposure of their company’s vital information? Perception is a large part of the problem – the perception that security solutions are just too expensive, and that computers are relatively inexpensive to replace − but that’s a dangerous misconception. Remember, a company doesn’t “just lose the box” when a computer goes missing, it loses confidential information and data critical to the operation of the business.

The reality is this: Wouldn’t a company spend 10 cents a day to protect millions of dollars worth of vital company data while also providing certified data destruction, hard drive data recovery and the ability to keep its damaged hard drive after it’s been replaced by a new drive? With Dell’s comprehensive ProSupport Mobility Services solutions, companies can do just that with custom-tailored options to fit the needs for simple and reliable laptop security as well as asset and data protection.

1Reported by Fox News, January 22, 2008, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,324465,00.html2McAfee and Datamonitor’s Data Loss Survey, 2007

“a company

doesn’t “just

lose the

box” when

a computer

goes missing,

it loses

confidential

information

and data

critical to the

operation of

the business.”

The Magnitude of the Problem

Over the past several decades, the general technology trend has been toward increasing power and versatility at decreasing costs, firmly implanting the concept in the buyer’s mind that if you wait long enough, you’ll get something better and cheaper. And so it is for businesses making laptop computer purchases – why spend additional money getting an “insurance policy” for them, when in a few years it can just buy new ones?

That’s not a bad idea, if employees don’t ever plan to actually store any data on the laptops!

The moment an employee begins filling the hard drive with customer and vendor information, product designs, strategic planning, personnel files, and anything else vital to the operation of the business, the value of that laptop increases exponentially, and will continue to do so every year. And don’t forget that the laptop may possibly give a thief access to the company’s private network and all the data that is stored there, including customer information such as credit card and social security numbers.

The bottom line is that the average data breach now costs a U.S. company $6.3 million dollars3, and access to a company’s network and files could be catastrophic. Both IT managers and mobile employees need to erase the thought that a laptop is easily replaceable, and instead realize that they are literally carrying their company’s security in their hands.

3Source: Ponemon Institute, U.S. Costs of a Data Breach, November 2007

“the average

data breach

now costs a

U.S. company

$6.3 million

dollars3, and

access to a

company’s

network and

files could be

catastrophic.”

How does a typical laptop loss occur? They’re left in cabs, stolen in restaurants and hotels, but the most vulnerable location is the airport. It is not difficult to imagine a frantic business traveler arriving at the airport late, distracted by dozens of calls, text messages, and emails on his mobile devices. He’s tired, hungry, and in no mood to have his tube of toothpaste confiscated at the security checkpoint. With only minutes to catch his flight, he passes through the metal detector, shoves on his shoes and hits the ground running to his gate. It’s not until this traveler is in the air that he has the awful realization that he left his laptop at the bottom of the security bin. And this is not a rare occurrence—in 2007 well over 12,000 laptops went missing at U.S. airports every week, and 70% of those returned to lost and found were never recovered!4

If losing a laptop was a disease, this would be considered an epidemic.

In 2007, this extraordinary number of missing and stolen laptops accounted for 49% of all data breaches5, with untold costs in down time, and lost productivity and revenue. The sad part is that a majority of this could be avoided with the proper security precautions, but in 2007 an astonishing 65% of business travelers admitted they have no form of protection for the data on their laptops, while 34% had no idea what protection measures they have6.

No one disputes the fact that mobility is crucial to businesses large and small, and the number of mobile devices will continue to grow. But every day that IT managers send their mobile workforces into the field with unprotected laptops, they are risking a million dollar gamble that few companies can afford to take.

“in 2007 well

over 12,000

laptops went

missing at

U.S. airports

every week,

and 70%

of those

returned to

lost and found

were never

recovered!”

4Ponemon Institute, U.S. Costs of a Data Breach, November 20075Source: Ponemon Institute, U.S. Costs of a Data Breach, November 20076Source: Ponemon Institute, U.S. Costs of a Data Breach, November 2007

The Impact

The loss or theft of a company computer can have severe financial and legal consequences that may not be fully realized for years to come. The following are just some of those consequences.

• Impact on the company: The liability of lost data – including items such as intellectual property and especially personal data of employees or customers, which can result in class action lawsuits, as well as criminal liability. A single data breach can cause enormous damage to a company’s reputation, and cost them many millions of dollars in fines and lost revenue.

• Impact on the user: Lost productivity while waiting for the missing computer to be returned, or if it’s not returned, waiting for a new computer to be delivered. Then hours, days or weeks spent re-creating the data and applications that were lost – assuming there were even backups. Many end-users NEVER back-up their laptop data.

• Impact on the IT department: Security – Once a laptop goes missing, IT must track all the laptops and make sure they are secure, and make sure the company’s network has not been compromised. It is IT’s responsibility to verify what was on the laptop and what the loss could mean to the company. Then they must purchase a replacement laptop, configure it, ship it to the end user, and then work with the user to help them recreate their environment.

• Impact on the customer: The nightmare of identity theft and personal financial loss, and the years it takes to repair their credit and personal information.

“A single

data breach

can cause

enormous

damage to a

company’s

reputation,

and cost them

many millions

of dollars in

fines and lost

revenue.”

The Ideal Solution?

The ideal solution to the threats posed by the loss or theft of a laptop, the failure of a hard drive or the need to certify the destruction of the data on a hard drive would encompass the following.

• Easy• For the IT Department to deploy and manage• For mobile employees to use without a major impact on how

they conduct their business• Comprehensive

• Providing solutions for data protection, recovery, and data destruction in the event of a missing device or a failed hard drive

• Flexible/Configurable/Modular • Allowing customers to select the exact amount of protection

they want• Affordable

• So that it will be a “no brainer” to provide protection for every laptop in your organization

• Additional Features • Such as the highest level of technical support for repair

services, robust 24x7 coverage, and GPS tracking capability

Introduction of Dell ProSupport Mobility Services

Customers today need support that goes beyond the traditional mold of break/fix. Dell introduced a new portfolio of services last year called Dell ProSupport that gives customers the flexibility to purchase support that is right for them, whether for IT staff or end users. This is the foundation for support that provides customers with coverage

from the desktop to the datacenter to the laptop with rapid response times, proactive support and comprehensive modular options for protection. According to leading industry analyst firm Enterprise Strategy Group, “ProSupport, Dell’s new approach to the packaging and delivery of support services, is more than just a rebranding exercise. Rather, it represents a complete rethinking of how customers buy support services and how Dell can most efficiently deliver them.”7

Today’s highly mobile workforce has burst out of the ancient barriers of the company cubicles, and for better or for worse, can now conduct business anywhere in the world at any time of the day. This mobility may increase productivity, but it also creates enormous challenges for IT staff, which now must be able to guarantee that adequate security will accompany those workers regardless of whether they are in a coffee shop in Prague, a restaurant in Hong Kong, or a busy airport anywhere in the world.

Fortunately, there is an ideal solution to these problems – Dell ProSupport Mobility Services. These solutions from Dell provide comprehensive and configurable options for Dell ProSupport customers, while eliminating the risks and liabilities of unprotected laptops out in the field. With the extended capability options of certified data destruction, hard drive data recovery and the ability to keep your damaged hard drive after its been replaced by a new drive, Dell ProSupport Mobility Services offer a robust solution at an affordable price point – inexpensive enough that the services can be added to every new computer purchased by a business or organization.

7“ProSupport Launch Shows Dell is Serious About “Simplify IT””, Enterprise Strategy Group, Mary Johnston Turner, Senior Analyst

Dell ProSupport Mobility Services were designed to address specific asset and data protection pain points expressed by IT departments and mobile workers worldwide:

Customer Pain Drives Demand for Dell ProSupport Mobility Services

PainProSupport Mobility

Service AnswerLoss of productivity and data from a missing laptop

Laptop tracking and recovery (with enhanced location determination available on GPS enabled laptops)

Liability for unsecured data on a lost or stolen laptop

Remote deletion of data on lost or stolen laptops

Lost data due to hard drive failure Hard drive data recovery serviceCost of complying with removing sensitive data from a failed hard drive

Certified data destruction

Reduced mobility when battery depletes after initial warranty coverage period

Extended battery service coverage of up to 3 years

Availability and terms of Dell Services vary by region. Please see additional terms of service at http://www.dell.com/servicedescriptions

The following sections cover the major components of the Dell ProSupport Mobility Services. Remember that you can choose just the components that would be of the most value to your firm.

• Laptop Tracking and Recovery If a mobile worker discovers his laptop has been lost or stolen, it doesn’t have to mean he has no chance of ever seeing it again. By filing a report with the Dell Recovery team, measures are quickly taken to try to track the laptop. As soon as someone uses that laptop to connect to the Internet, the service is designed to identify the location and work with local law enforcement to attempt recovery of the system.

For added security, laptops equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) technology can provide enhanced location information, providing law enforcement with more accurate coordinates.

Obviously, laptop recovery is the best case scenario, with the possibility of avoiding much costly downtime, asset replacement and security breaches.

• Remote Data DeleteHaving your valuable data lost would be enough of a nightmare. Having it fall into the wrong hands could be a disaster. Generally people who steal laptops aren’t looking to wipe the drives and sell them on eBay—they likely want to maximize their profits by exploiting your company’s data and the personal information of your customers.

Dell ProSupport Remote Data Delete service works in conjunction with Laptop Tracking and Recovery. Customers notify Dell when their system has gone lost or stolen and within seconds of the system connecting to the Internet, an algorithm can be sent to remotely delete data from their laptop so the wrong eyes will never see it. IT Managers can determine whether they want data to be deleted at a file level or delete all data from the hard drive.

Dell also provides other options to assist with your organization’s data security such as encrypted hard drives, biometric fingerprint readers and more. For more information on other Dell security options, visit www.dell.com/security

• Hard Drive Data RecoveryIn a perfect world, your workforce would perform regular back ups, but in the real world, various surveys indicate that as little as ten percent of people adhere to adequate back up schedules. So when there is a hard drive failure, a lot of precious data is at risk of being lost and productivity grinds to a halt.

Dell ProSupport Hard Drive Data Recovery Service has the ability to recover data from Dell commercial laptops and desktops. Once a hard drive failure has been diagnosed, if the failure is covered by Dell’s limited warranty a replacement drive can be sent, giving your workforce the chance to continue to do business as usual as quickly as possible. The failed drive is then sent to the Dell recovery team. They will work to recover data from the drive, even using a “clean room” environment if needed to reconstruct the drive. Customers are able to closely monitor the recovery process along the way via a password protected portal and once recovery is complete, receive data back via encrypted drive or USB, depending on size.

The data recovery process can be extremely costly in today’s market if sourced at the time of failure. With Dell’s service, however, customers are able to purchase peace of mind with coverage for a select number of years, giving them the protection support they require.

• Certified Data DestructionIf your laptop’s hard drive fails, there are still ways for thieves to obtain data from it that can compromise your company. Compliance failures can be extremely costly, and in order to meet some requirements, a hard drive must be physically wiped completely clean.

Dell ProSupport offers certified data destruction and disposal of the hard drive, allowing you confidence that you can remain in compliance and that no sensitive data will fall into the wrong hands. Once complete, you are provided with a certification of destruction for your records.

In addition to these services, Dell also offers the following options to further enable your workforce:

• Extended Battery Service for up to three years, providing you with an additional replacement battery after the first year when you are covered by manufacturer warranty.

• Keep Your Hard Drive, which provides you the ability to retain your hard drive if it requires replacement, while addressing destruction and compliance needs through your own processes.

• CompleteCare Accidental Damage Service offers repair or replacement service for accidents you can’t plan for, such as dropping your laptop or spilling your latte into the keyboard.

Conclusion

Every time your company purchases a new laptop, you go through a list of options that you can add to the machine – a faster processor, more memory, a larger hard drive, or a bigger screen – all things aimed at making the worker more productive and improving your return on investment. So why not add the security features of Dell ProSupport Mobility Services at the same time? All those other great options that you are adding won’t be worth anything to your users if the device and/or data is lost or stolen or the hard drive fails – Dell ProSupport asset and data protection services could very well be the most valuable option that is added to each new laptop.

Next Steps/ Actions

There can be no doubt about the seriousness of the problem of laptop loss and theft, hard drive failure, or the potential liabilities and loss of productivity that accompany these events. Contact your local Dell representative right away to discuss how Dell ProSupport Mobility Services can help your firm.

1-800-WWW-DELL (1-800-999-3355)www.dell.com/prosupport/mobilitywww.dell.com/getprotectedandconnected

SIMPLIFY YOUR IT MANAGEMENT AT Dell.com/ProSupport

©2009 Dell Inc. Availability varies by country. To learn more, customers and Dell Channel Partners should contact your sales representative for more information. For terms of services, visit www.dell.com/servicedescriptions.