Do you read this article on a laptop computer? Can you imagine the feeling if someone stole yours while you were at an airport, cafe or home. It would be devastating.
Laptop theft is a growing concern. Norton, a security software provider, reports that 97% percent of stolen laptops never come back into circulation again. Laptops are an attractive target for thieves with 44% targeting laptops due to their high resale values while 56% contain sensitive information that criminals seek out and exploit.
What could be stored on my laptop?
An attorney might store confidential case files on their laptop computer; medical professionals might keep patient data. You might also store intellectual property or the private details of clients.
Even if no autologin feature has been installed on your laptop computer, an unauthorized actor could still gain access to your office network with just one click to log into saved credentials.
Never use your laptop again?
Laptops do pose some security concerns, but we do not suggest never leaving the office with one in hand - use smart security measures alongside its convenience!
Remote Wipe
Part of mobile device management (MDM), this solution enables remote access to your laptop computer and ensures it is wiped clean when connecting to the Internet.
The wipe solution allows you to remotely delete files or folders remotely or wipe an entire hard drive of an inaccessible device.
This approach does have its limitations, however. For an administrator to issue a command in response to theft or loss, they must first become aware of it themselves - in some instances data that has been lost may still be recoverable.
We suggest the use of encryption.
Full Disk Encryption (FDE)
offers comprehensive protection of hard drives by providing encryption keys that secure every sector on the entire disk.
Lock your laptop's hard drive using file-level encryption (FLE). FDE transforms all data into an inaccessible format that only those authorized can decrypt. An attacker would find it extremely challenging to decipher all your information on one go!
Imagine your laptop as a house. FLE acts as individual door locks while FDE protects all the doors and windows (front, back, side).
Both Windows and macOS come equipped with encryption options built-in, such as BitLocker for Windows or FileVault on macOS.
Laptop Security: Best Practices
One of the best ways to safeguard a laptop is avoiding storing sensitive information on its hard drive. Other effective measures for protecting laptops may include:
Protecting your laptop requires setting a strong passphrase or password on its user account and activating two-factor authentication, avoiding public Wi-Fi networks and browsing securely via Web browsers, and backing up regularly via an external drive, cloud storage service or local network.
Use the appropriate strategies to increase laptop security. Reduce potential threats. We are here to assist - contact us today at (404) 932-5940 or email us at info@nuwaveitc.com
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