And While We're on the Subject of Cars....
Posted by Lance Koonce
There has been a recent spate of thefts of laptops from parked cars, and in particular rental cars parked close to restaurants known to be frequented by business executives. The most prominent of these thefts was of a computer that held sensitive information about nearly 200,000 Hewlett Packard employees. SiliconValley.com reports that this problem has become so significant around Silicon Valley that "a dozen law enforcement agencies, including local police departments, the FBI and U.S. Customs Department, met to discuss the issue."
Fortunately, according to the report
Typically, the thieves erase the data, strip the computers and sell them overseas or on eBay, said Ryan. So far, he said, Palo Alto police haven't received any reports of actual misuse of personal information.
These incidents certainly highlight the value of security measures such as encryption for sensitive information stored on laptops, but they also point out -- as if we needed further proof -- the danger of "low tech" security breachs. Surely it's only a matter of time before petty thieves begin to realize the value of the information stored on the laptops they pilfer.