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By Jon Swartz, USA TODAY Mon Mar 27, 6:47 AM ET
The latest in computer security is a throwback to old-fashioned safety.
Recent thefts of laptops with sensitive corporate data have prompted more companies and individuals to snap up everything from locks to tracking software to protect data from PC snatchers.
They’re buying hardware and software to “create layers of deterrence,” says John Livingston, CEO of Absolute Software. It makes software that tracks a computer’s location when it’s logged onto the Internet.
Laptop heists are among a wave of computer-security breaches in the past year, leaving thousands of people vulnerable to ID theft.
Fidelity Investments last week disclosed that someone made off with a laptop containing the names, Social Security numbers and other information for 196,000 current and former Hewlett-Packard employees. Fidelity manages HP’s 401(k) retirement and pension plans.
In recent months, laptops containing personal information have been swiped from Ameriprise Financial, Boeing and others.
As more people store data in a mobile environment, laptops and portable storage devices have become more attractive to ID thieves, says Bob Egner, a marketing executive at Pointsec Mobile Technologies, which makes security software. And, in most instances, the data were not scrambled with encryption technology because it was costly or inconvenient, says security analyst Eric Ogren of Enterprise Strategy Group.
Once a laptop is stolen, cracking the password is easy. Crooks restart PCs using a Linux operating system disk and change passwords. Others use search engines to get software tools that unlock a password. “Anyone skilled in computer forensics can crack a password in minutes,” Egner says.
Security-conscious laptop users are turning to cable locks from vendors such as Kensington that connect laptops to desks and anything else anchored to the ground. Some locks have alarms heard up to 40 feet.
Others use data-wipe software that locks up or wipes out data when a stolen PC connects to the Internet.
There also are kitchen-sink security measures from Gateway and others.
This month, Gateway began offering a package of products that includes locks, tracking software and remote-wiping software allowing a PC user to remotely destroy data the next time the laptop is connected to the Internet.
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