Laptop misery for IT departments

Some astonishing statistics from research into the loss of business laptops at airports…

Heathrow airport has been named as the capital of lost laptops in Europe with over 900 latops going missing every week, according to research by the Ponemon Institute.

The research found that over 800,000 laptops are lost in European and US airports each year, with around 4,000 going missing each week in Europe alone.

‘It’s staggering to learn that more than 175,000 laptops are lost or go missing in the major European airports every year, with many containing sensitive information that organisations must account for,’ said Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder, Ponemon Institute. ‘IT departments must re-evaluate the steps they’re taking to protect mobile professionals, the laptops they carry and company data stored on mobile devices.’

Worryingly the research also revealed that, of the laptops handed into lost property offices over half are never claimed with many of those containing unsecured private and confidential data.