Understanding Your Risks from a Stolen or Lost Laptop

Many organizations expend considerable effort to secure their internal networks, key computing resources, and connections to the Internet. Few recognize that a significant amount of their most proprietary information, the information of most value to competitors and investors alike, is traveling around the country on the largely unsecured laptop computers of road warriors and senior executives.

SystemExperts has developed a comprehensive methodology for assessing the risks that a stolen or lost laptop would pose to your organization. Our analysis will give you concise answers to the following questions.

If a laptop were lost...

• What information of a strategic nature would be disclosed?
  Real examples of this type of information include pending mergers, new product intellectual property, strategies and launch plans, and previously undisclosed financial operating results.

• What information of a tactical nature would be disclosed?
  Examples include private compensation information, plans for organizational changes, proposals to clients, and the myriad of similar information that can be gained from reading a person's email, calendar, contacts, or collection of documents and spreadsheets.

• What information about the company's network or computing infrastructure would be revealed that would facilitate an electronic attack?
  Examples of this type of information include usernames and passwords, dial in numbers, IP addressing schemes, DNS naming conventions, ISPs used, primary mail servers, and other networking details related to connecting the laptop to the corporate or Internet environment.

• What personal information about the laptop owner can be obtained?

Naturally, SystemExperts ^TM will advise you about how best to secure these portable computers to prevent such unintended disclosure in the future.