Do you know where your laptop is?
August 16th, 2007 by John Dragoon
Going mobile is not just a convenience, its the way most of us manage the frenetic pace of commerce….and life. Losing your laptop or favorite mobile device is not only a hassle, it’s a liability with dire consequences. It’s one reason the Department of Veterans Affairs was so focused last year in retrieving the laptop of an employee that contained sensitive details on more than 26 million U.S. military veterans. Fortunately, the laptop in question was retrieved making it a rare exception to the FBI’s statistic that 97 percent of stolen PC’s are never recovered. Lest you think this is an isolated case, according to Safeware Insurance, more than 600,000 notebook thefts occurred in 2003, a number that is most likely much higher since then. As in many things in life, hope is not a strategy.
Alas much of the conventional wisdom on managing identity theft and the loss of one’s treasured mobile device falls into the category of conventional wisdom. Some of the most commonly offered advice on addressing these challenges include:
- Back up your data
- Encrypt your data
- Secure your device with an anti-theft product
- Insure yourself against loss
Problem is much of this well intentioned advice requires active participation by the end user. Not likely. I’ll use myself as exhibit A. My data is backed up but only because I use Novell’s iFolder which handles this automatically. On my home PC….I’m exposed (except for my Quicken data which I am current on!). Encrypt your data. Never have done this…and don’t know many who have. I have one of those PC locks but I think it’s still in the original packaging. Insurance? Seems like too little too late to me. I prefer a pro-forma solution. Something that is automated on my behalf and protects me from my self.
As many of you know, our approach to identity, security and systems management is to offer automated solutions that address these challenges through pre-defined policies and roles. We prefer to take hope and chance out of the equation and make the solution transparent to the end user. In essence to protect one from “good intentions that weren’t executed”.
Earlier this week we expanded our capabilities in enterprise IT management through the acquisition of Senforce Technologies. Senforce is a leader in endpoint security management and through this acquisition we offer an integrated solution to one of the most vulnerable places on the corporate network – the user endpoint. Through this investment and the rest of the Zenworks family of products we’ll continue to help customers protect their IT investments from the increasing threats of data theft, wireless exploits, software attacks, malware and viruses.
It would be nice if we didn’t have to worry about all this but who wants to go back to being tethered to a desk. I’ll take my data, and my freedom, with me….and the confidence that if “stuff happens” I’ll have more than hope on my side.
John
