Email

By Greg Bartlett

Unfortunately, in this technological and electronic age, identity theft has become common. Information stored electronically has become much easier for individuals to steal and exploit. Many people take precautions such as shredding sensitive documents and using passwords on computers. But then their laptop is stolen, and all that effort is wasted – someone now has information that can be misused, especially if that laptop was a business laptop.

Laptop Security

One identity theft study noted that a laptop is stolen every 12 seconds, and commercial and government laptops are routinely among those stolen. The amount of information on these computers can be devastating to millions of individuals. For instance, two computers stolen from one state government resulted in information on about 1.25 million people being lost. Other stolen laptops contain information on fewer people, but can still reveal sensitive records for thousands of individuals per laptop. The study claimed that since January 2008, almost 4.3 billion records have been lost because of stolen laptops.

Identity theft protection experts try to work with government institutions, businesses, and individuals to help protect sensitive information. Protecting laptops is a big part of that, especially for governments and businesses. Even for students on college campuses, where laptop theft can be especially prevalent, losing a laptop is a security hazard, not even counting all the lost data such as class notes and paper preparations.

Experts recommend using GPS devices to keep track of laptops, especially those with vital information. In fact, one identity theft protection expert claims that GPS devices are the single most effective laptop theft deterrent.

Individuals want to protect their own identity. To do this, they can help protect themselves with GPS tracking devices in their electronics, whether it is a laptop used for personal reasons or school purposes. But all their efforts may be pointless if governments and businesses don’t also use GPS devices to protect their laptops. Any laptop used to store personal or sensitive information should be secured, protected, and able to be tracked.

Identity theft is catastrophic to everyone involved. Individuals may have their credit ruined or worse, and governments and companies can lose money with lawsuits and even just notifying everyone about the identity theft. But the expense and hassle of dealing with stolen personal information can be avoided with the use of GPS devices in laptops, keeping sensitive data out of the wrong hands.