Are your laptop and data safe when you travel? Survey says …

If you think your laptop will be safe in Europe, think again.

A Ponemon Institute study claims 12,000 traveler laptops go lost, missing or stolen each week at US airports. The highly respected Gartner, Inc., an information technology research and advisory firm, says a laptop is stolen in the U.S. every 53 seconds. The FBI has stated that 97 percent of reported laptop thefts are never recovered.

Europe isn’t much better. The Ponemon Institute also reports 3,800 computers go missing each week from Europe’s 24 busiest airports. Half are never retrieved. Heathrow loses 900 laptops per week, Amsterdam Schipol 750, Paris Charles de Gaulle 733, Gatwick 385, to name a few of Europe’s major airports.

I don’t know about you, but those statistics blow me away.

Airport environments today are stressful for most people. We worry about our checked-in luggage being pilfered and getting to our destination with us, moving through TSA security without incurring the dreaded secondary search, and finding space in the overhead bins for our carry-on items. Most people don’t want to arrive at the airport hours before their flight, and therefore often feel rushed getting through security and then to the gate, which may be quite a hike.

It’s not surprising that the most common airport locations where laptops are lost or missing include security checkpoints (40 percent) and departure gates (23 percent). These are locations at which people most often feel rushed.

Los Angeles International, Miami International, JFK, Chicago O’Hare, and Newark Liberty International have the highest incidence of laptop losses according to the Ponemon study. Over 53 percent of business travelers told Ponemon that their laptops contain confidential or sensitive information, yet 65 percent of these same travelers admitted they don’t take steps to protect or secure their laptop information.

TSA disputes the Ponemon statistics. TSA claims that, nationally at all US airports, about 75 laptops are reported lost or missing each month (900 per year). TSA’s statistic is clearly at odds with even the most conservative numbers obtained by Computer World, who also doubts some of the Ponemon statistics. According to the most conservative data I found, at least 867 computers were lost or stolen in 2007, at just three of the airports in the study; Miami, Reagan National, and Dulles International.

Dr. Larry Ponemon, founder of the Institute, said the difference between the study’s findings and the laptop incident numbers reported by the airports is a result of the methodology used by their researchers. Ponemon, who stands by the study stated, as an example, cites that someone who leaves an airport restaurant or security checkpoint without their laptop, but who promptly returns to claim it, would not be reported in official statistics.

Whether its 12,000 lost, missing or stolen laptops per week, or many fewer, I don’t want my laptop to be a part of those statistics, and I’m sure other travelers feel the same. What can be done? Personally, I take precautions to avoid loosing my laptop, but if it is, I’ve also taken precautions to protect my data in the event it goes missing.

To protect my laptop and data from loss or theft, I:

1. Never put my laptop in my checked-in luggage.
2. I clearly label my laptop to identify it as it passes through security.
3. At security, the bin with my laptop is the last one I use on the conveyor belt. I don’t proceed through the metal detector at security until the bin with the laptop is in the x-ray machine. Immediately after being cleared by the metal detector officer, I go to the X-ray conveyor to retrieve my laptop before anyone else can.
4. In an airplane, I always put my laptop either in an overhead bin in front of me so I can watch it, or under the seat in front of me. I never put it in an overhead bin behind me.
5. At the gate, if I’ve been using my laptop, I begin its shutdown at least 15 minutes prior to boarding so I have plenty of time to pack it away, and safely gather my belongings.
6. At hotels, I put my laptop in the room safe, or the hotel safe when I’m out of my room.
7. I don’t use unsecured wireless networks. This seems like a no-brainer, but if the wireless network I’m using doesn’t require a password, I don’t use it.
8. Unless absolutely essential, I don’t access financial or bank records while traveling.

In case my laptop is lost or stolen, I take the following precautions to protect my data:

1. I password protect my computer’s hard drive, with a strong password.
2. I have no personal or business data on my laptop.
3. I use a software firewall on my laptop when traveling.
4. I use GoToMyPC.com to remotely, from anywhere in the world, via the Internet, connect to my office computer to retrieve mail, obtain personal and business data, type documents and surf the web. That way, no passwords and personal information are ever typed or stored in my laptop.
5. If, for some special reason I need a small amount of personal data on my laptop I encrypt it with PGP, then delete it before returning home.
6. I use Lojack Premium for theft recovery and data protection in case my laptop is stolen.
7. I use EZ Find’s global return service to identify my laptop with a sticker to help a “Good Samaritan”, or “Lost and Found” return my computer if it goes missing.