Re: Stolen Laptops

[Joel Rosenblatt <joel () COLUMBIA EDU>]

This number will be affected by the area where your school is located .. here in NYC, the police have better things to 
do than chase down lost laptops :-)

With that said, beside PCPhoneHome, we have a free registration service run by our Public Safety department - they engrave the device with a serial number and 
provide non removable stickers.

We do recover laptops from the local pawn shops .. the police will check there periodically and pull any machines with 
our stickers.

Any system you employ will up your odds ... the trick is to get people to use your systems ... most of our student laptops are stolen from the library .. the 
students leave them in the carols and go to the bathroom, get coffee, look for another book, etc. and they always say .. I was only gone for a second.

.... as I like to say .. you can't stop stupid, but you can slow it down.

Education is still the best way to slow down stupid ... figure out a way to teach your population about security and awareness and you have taken a major step 
in reduction of crime.

My 2 cents

Joel Rosenblatt

Joel Rosenblatt, Manager Network & Computer Security
Columbia Information Security Office (CISO)
Columbia University, 612 W 115th Street, NY, NY 10025 / 212 854 3033
http://www.columbia.edu/~joel


--On Wednesday, July 28, 2010 10:07 AM -0400 David Bowie <david.bowie () BC EDU> wrote:

> My interest lies with how many computers were recovered after being stolen AND having some sort of LoJack installed.
>
> That percentage tells me a lot more about the efficacy of each system.  Anyone care to share that level of data?
>
>  From us - we had 25 computers stolen in 2009.  None had LoJack or anything installed.  3 were recovered.  (Mostly 
> through silly actions on behalf of the
> thief - another discussion over beer perhaps.)  That statistic may hold true without any system - you may recover ~10% 
> through sheer luck and persistence.
>
> --djb
>
> On 07/28/2010 09:57 AM, Bradley, Stephen W. Mr. wrote:
> > So, at three laptops over say 3 years does that make a good investment?
> > If you only have 10 laptops to begin with it probably is but if you
> > have 5,000 I don't know.
> > steve
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > *From:* The EDUCAUSE Security Constituent Group Listserv
> > [mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU] *On Behalf Of *SCHALIP, MICHAEL
> > *Sent:* Wednesday, July 28, 2010 9:46 AM
> > *To:* SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU
> > *Subject:* Re: [SECURITY] Stolen Laptops
> >
> > We use Lojack on all of our laptops – over the past 3-4 years, we've
> > been able to recover 3 laptops.
> >
> > M
> >
> > *From:* The EDUCAUSE Security Constituent Group Listserv
> > [mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU] *On Behalf Of *Maloney, Michael
> > *Sent:* Wednesday, July 28, 2010 7:46 AM
> > *To:* SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU
> > *Subject:* Re: [SECURITY] Stolen Laptops
> >
> > We don't use Lojack on our campus laptops, but we have had dealings
> > with them when a student connects to our wireless network with one
> > that Lojack was activated on.   First time the student disconnected
> > and left before Lojack got in touch with the right people.  Couple
> > days later when the student returned, they were in for a big surprise.
> >
> > *********************************************
> > Mike Maloney
> > Sr. System Engineer
> > Middlesex County College
> > 2600 Woodbridge Avenue
> > Edison, NJ 08818
> > Phone: 732-906-7754
> > Cell: 908-217-2086
> > Fax: 732-906-4266
> > Email: mmaloney () middlesexcc edu <mailto:mmaloney () middlesexcc edu>
> > ***********************************************
> >
> > *From:* The EDUCAUSE Security Constituent Group Listserv
> > [mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU] *On Behalf Of *Kimberly Heimbrock
> > *Sent:* Tuesday, July 27, 2010 1:25 PM
> > *To:* SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU
> > *Subject:* [SECURITY] Stolen Laptops
> >
> > Unfortunately, laptops thefts have been significantly increasing,
> > (usually in locked offices – after hours) and was wondering what
> > success anyone has had using Lojack, Prey, or other tools.  Any
> > (affordable) ideas for increased physical security and software tools
> > that have been proven to reduce thefts and trace the equipment would
> > be appreciated.  We will be communicating increased fac/staff
> > awareness as it relates to the physical security of mobile devices, so
> > ideas to be included with that message would be great too. Thanks in
> > advance!
> >
> > *Kim Heimbrock*
> >
> > Director, IT Policy and Compliance
> >
> > Northern Kentucky University
> >
> > (859) 572-5139
> >
> > heimbrockk () nku edu <mailto:heimbrockk () nku edu>
> >
> >
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> >
> >
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Joel Rosenblatt, Manager Network & Computer Security
Columbia Information Security Office (CISO)
Columbia University, 612 W 115th Street, NY, NY 10025 / 212 854 3033
http://www.columbia.edu/~joel