Personal Security and Identity Theft Expert Warns that Laptop Computers Bereft of GPS Tracking Technology Are Easy Targets for Criminals
November continued to witness a spate of laptop computer thefts, and news surfaced in California of organized crime's newfound affinity for these portable machines. A nationally televised personal security and identity theft expert encouraged owners to equip laptops with GPS tracking technology.

/Computer Trades News Articles/ - BOSTON, MA, November 29, 2006 - (IDTheftSecurity.com) According to Symantec, a laptop computer is stolen every 53 seconds, and 97 percent of these machines lost to theft are never recovered. According to Robert Siciliano, a personal security and identity theft expert, the numbers are hardly surprising: November continued to witness a spate of thefts, and news surfaced in California of organized crime's newfound affinity for laptop computers. Siciliano encouraged owners to equip laptops with GPS tracking technology.

"The unsecured laptop computer is easily stolen and a goldmine for identity thieves," said Siciliano. "Owners indiscriminately store personal data of all kinds on them. The portable computer is the thief's fantasy, but effective, and inexpensive, security exists." Siciliano said anyone who owns a laptop computer should install on it affordable safeguards such as GPS tracking, encryption technology, and systems to remotely retrieve and delete data.

Siciliano, president of IDTheftSecurity.com, provides consumer education solutions to Fortune 500 companies and their clients. The Privacy Learning Institute has featured him on its Web site. This year, Siciliano has discussed identity theft on CNBC's "On the Money" multiple times, on NBC's "Today Show," and on FOX News. He is author of "The Safety Minute: 01."

On Nov. 8, KABC-TV Los Angeles reported concerns over gangs there that have been turning to high-tech crime, including laptop computer theft. The same day, The Associated Press reported that officials in New York had apprehended a thief who stole laptop computers belonging to the New York City Board of Education. According to the article, tracking technology on both computers helped police to locate them.

News, as well, of large organizations hemorrhaging laptop computers continued to surface in November. On Nov. 15, Washington, D.C.'s WTOP Radio reported that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service lost 478 laptop computers between 2002 and the time of the radio station's report. An unspecified number were lost to thieves. And on Nov. 16, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported the loss of a laptop that houses the Social Security numbers of possibly 43,000 current and former employees of T-Mobile USA Inc.

"The recent statistics speak for themselves, and the responsible thing to do is invest in GPS technology to remove data and recover a lost or stolen machine," said Dan Yost, chief technology officer at MyLaptopGPS, a firm whose product tracks the whereabouts of misplaced and stolen laptops by way of Internet-based GPS. "The market is awash with an array of less-than-effective laptop computer security products. MyLaptopGPS gives a user a host of functionalities all rolled into one product, plus the peace of mind that comes from silently retrieving a laptop's data from a remote location."

MyLaptopGPS offers security for laptop computers at a cost that pales in comparison to the financial price tag of laptop theft, which can exceed $6,000 for even just one machine, according to research from Gartner Group.

Internet-based GPS, the technology MyLaptopGPS uses, is more affordable and user-friendly than other types of GPS tracking and effectively tracks lost machines. And MyLaptopGPS also installs software that encrypts and silently removes and retrieves files from lost laptops—at once returning the data to its rightful owner and deleting it on the stolen machine. Users can invoke MyLaptopGPS's functions remotely.

"The data breaches continue unabated," Siciliano concluded. "And now laptops are quickly becoming the item of choice for identity thieves conspiring with gangs and organized criminals everywhere. Smart organizations and individuals are protecting themselves with commonsense, affordable security that blocks the loss of personal information to theft."

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Robert Siciliano
IDTheftSecurity.com
President
P.O. Box 15145
Boston, MA
United States 02215
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Fax: 877-232-9669
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