Identity Theft Expert and MyLaptopGPS: Unsecured Mobile Computers Facilitate Noted Increase in Risk of Data Breaches Following Layoffs
Research recently released by the Ponemon Institute indicated that nearly 60 percent of employees stole data from their former employers. One of the easiest points of entry for unscrupulous, exiting employees is the employer's mobile computing equipment.


BOSTON, MA, March 25, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Research recently released by the Ponemon Institute indicated that nearly 60 percent of employees stole data from their former employers. One of the easiest points of entry for unscrupulous, exiting employees is the employer's mobile computing equipment, according to widely televised and quoted personal security and identity theft expert Robert Siciliano. He noted that an economic recession therefore makes laptop tracking and data retrieval technology as essential as ever, and pointed to affordable solutions from laptop computer security firm MyLaptopGPS (http://www.mylaptopgps.com/).

"Data is floating all over the place," said Siciliano. "Disgruntled workers about to leave their employers for whatever reasons seem to know where this data is, and they apparently use it illegally in many instances. Important databases left on laptop computers facilitate a great deal of the chaos, and a smart organization understands that it can go a long way in thwarting unscrupulous, former employees' machinations simply by securing its fleet of mobile computing equipment."

CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com and a member of the Bank Fraud & IT Security Report's editorial board, Siciliano leads Fortune 500 companies and their clients through presentations that explore security solutions for businesses and individuals. Author of "The Safety Minute: 01" and a longtime identity theft speaker, he has discussed data security and consumer protection on CNBC, NBC's "Today Show," FOX News Network, and elsewhere.

During the 12 months immediately preceding February of 2009, 59 percent of 945 people who had quit their jobs or been laid off or fired stole the their former employers' data, according to research from the Ponemon Institute (titled Jobs at Risk = Data at Risk and reported in Network World and other publications). Additionally, Ponemon findings indicated, 67 percent drew on their former employers' confidential data to secure new jobs. Alarmingly, one-fifth of respondents to Ponemon's survey identified themselves as working in corporate information technology.

"When one-fifth of IT workers are pilfering their former employers' data for personal gain, management needs to take notice," said MyLaptopGPS' chief technology officer, Dan Yost, who invited readers to follow MyLaptopGPS' laptop computer security blog and laptop computer security posts at Twitter:

http://blog.mylaptopgps.com/

http://twitter.com/MyLaptopGPS

"Technologically savvy decision-makers outside the IT department must take a participatory role and take ownership of the organization's mobile computing equipment, a type of asset particularly susceptible to foul play. Despite falling profits, affordable investments in laptop security technology are essential."

The success rate for MyLaptopGPS is 99.6 percent; the theft rate for laptop computers equipped with the company's technology is 0.4 percent, or 32 times lower than the average. Additionally, Yost pointed to SafeRegistry , a comprehensive system from MyLaptopGPS for inventorying entire fleets of mobile computers, as well as a full line of highly renowned SafeTags , which are police-traceable property tags designed to secure iPods , cell phones, BlackBerry devices and other mobile property.

Yost's expertise has been featured twice in CXO Europe. Furthermore, in December of 2008, he and Siciliano co-delivered a presentation titled "Information in the Modern Age: Maintaining Privacy in an Era of Medical Record Identity Theft" at the 4th Annual World Healthcare Innovation & Technology Congress in Washington, D.C., where Former U.S. Congressman Newt Gingrich delivered the keynote address:

http://www.worldcongress.com/events/HL09010/index.cfm?confCode=HL09010

Readers who belong to LinkedIn are encouraged to join the MyLaptopGPS group there, Laptop Computer Security:

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=1572907

Featured in Inc. Magazine and TechRepublic, MyLaptopGPS maintains the Realtime Estimated Damage Index (REDI ), a running tally of highly publicized laptop and desktop computer thefts and losses and these losses' associated costs:

http://mylaptopgps.com/redi.php

A log of these high-profile laptop thefts is available at MyLaptopGPS' website:

http://www.mylaptopgps.com/chronicle.php

Readers may download a demo of MyLaptopGPS:

http://mylaptopgps.com/demo_set.php

They also have the opportunity to read one of two reports tailored to the type of organization they run:

http://mylaptopgps.com/repfork.php

MyLaptopGPS combines Internet-based GPS tracking with other functionalities to secure mobile computing devices. A user launches MyLaptopGPS' features remotely, protecting data even while the machine is in a criminal's hands. Once connected to the Internet, the software silently retrieves and then deletes files from machines as it tracks the stolen or missing hardware -- at once returning the data to its rightful owner and removing it from the lost mobile computing device.

YouTube video shows Siciliano on a local FOX News affiliate discussing the importance of securing mobile computing devices on college campuses, where laptop theft can run rampant:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-HvuoHtOrY&feature=channel_page

To learn more about identity theft, a major concern for anyone who's lost a laptop computer or other mobile computing device to thieves, readers may go to video of Siciliano at VideoJug.

http://www.videojug.com/interview/identity-theft-computers-and-laptops

Further Related Resources:


Press Release Contact Information:

Robert Siciliano
IDTheftSecurity.com
Identity Theft Expert
P.O. Box 15145
Boston, MA
United States 02215
Voice: 888-742-4542
Fax: 877-232-9669
Website: Visit Our Website