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The dangers are real

by Loretta DeMarais, Phoenix Chapter Member

I was rather nonchalant regarding the value of my laptop and other electronic media devices until my neighbor’s laptop and cellular phone were stolen in the brief period of about one minute when he ran back into the house to get something before he left for work.  Shortly after this event, I saw the following statistics:

1. A 2007 survey by McAfee and Data Monitor Data Loss contends an ordinary laptop contains content valued at $972,000; some could store as much as $8.8 million in commercially sensitive data and intellectual property.
2. According to Safeware, a company specializing in hardware insurance, more than 600,000 laptops are stolen or lost every year—that’s more than one a minute.
3. Gartner, an IT consulting firm, states that the chances of your laptop being stolen this year are 1 in 10.

Avoid being a statistic

Tips to avoid becoming one of the statistics:

»   Never leave mobile equipment in an unlocked car, even for a few minutes.

»   Even in a locked car, keep the equipment out of sight, preferably in the trunk.

»   In the office, after hours, either lock your computer in a cabinet, to the desk ,or take it home with you.

»   Be careful with laptop carry bags—everyone knows what’s inside.

»   When traveling, always take the laptop with you as a carry-on.

»   Be very cautious when setting equipment down, such as when you are in line or using a copy machine.

»   Take extreme care in hotels, airport lounges and conference venues—thieves target these locations and events.

International travel considerations

As business becomes more global, international travel is more commonplace, and you may find yourself traveling across international borders with electronic media, especially laptops.  Acts of terrorism have changed border patrol policies, many of which are related to electronic data.  The following paragraphs explain what this might mean to you.

Department of Homeland Security search authority
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has officially announced it will use its search authority to seize travelers’ laptops, cell phones, cameras, PDAs, iPods, video tapes, books, and even magazines, without any suspicion or probable cause. The U. S. federal agents have been given rights to seize travelers’ laptops and other electronic devices at the border and hold them for unspecified periods. DHS has reported these types of searches have helped limit the movement of terrorists and threats to national security.

Border search policies regarding mail, packages, and computers
The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Web site has the official policy regarding border search of information documented in July of 2008.  One interesting fact found here is that an appropriate search warrant or consent is required by a CBP officer to open Sealed Letter Class Mail (the international equivalent of First Class).  This requirement does not exist for packages transported by other carriers, such as DHL or FedEx.  So, for the greatest security  of your international mail, ship it as Sealed Letter Class Mail  AND mail it; do not carry it with you.

Another interesting fact is that if your electronic equipment was made in a country other than your homeland, you might have to pay duty on it each time you bring it home unless you can prove that you owned it before you left on your trip. Documents that fully describe the item, such as sales receipts or insurance policies, are acceptable forms of proof.  Note that you can register items before you leave, using forms on the CPB Web site.

Protecting your work

To make sure you do not jeopardize your work, before and while you travel, follow these tips:

»   Make at least two images of your data.  Keep one at home and ship one to your destination or copy it to a network that you have access to when traveling.  

»   Also ship (or copy) one copy to your home destination at the conclusion of your trip if there is additional data you need to have on hand when you return.  Perhaps have an image in a sealed, posted U. S. mail container.

This may sound like overkill, but if your equipment is retained, you will be really glad you took these precautions!

More information

»   For more information about US Customs and Border Protection: http://www.cbp.gov

»    For the CBP search authority document: http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/travel/admissability/search_authority.ctt/search_authority.pdf

»    For more information about electronic equipment insurance: http://www.safeware.com/

This entry was posted on Monday, February 9th, 2009 at 4:00 am and is filed under January/February 2009 Issue, Rough Draft Newsletter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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