Lost laptop? Protect the true worth of your notebook08 February 2006
Research conducted by Symantec has revealed that the average laptop is worth as much as £550,000, as the value of the intellectual property, company data and files, far exceeds that of the machine itself.
Businesses are increasingly taking advantage of wireless broadband and a growing number of Wi-Fi enabled cafes, stations, and city centres, to allow their staff to work while on the move.
The majority of people who work in this way, however, probably have no idea of the staggering value of the property they are carrying around with them. Employees are likely to be unaware that the retail cost of the device they use for mobile working is just a fraction of its true worth.
According to the Symantec study, just 42 per cent of businesses bother to back up and protect the content of these mobile devices. And as Silicon reports that a massive 10,000 laptops are abandoned in taxis annually, it is essential that small businesses take measures to protect the information stored on them.
Online data back up
It is a good idea to ensure that company data and information is automatically retrieved and stored safely via online data back-up. Small businesses can arrange a service which periodically saves files at a third party location, so that in the event of the data's loss or theft company disruption is kept to a minimum as vital information can easily be retrieved. A simple installation of software and the selection of which data needs to be retrieved is all that is required to ensure valuable material is not lost forever. BT's Datasure offers an encryption and retrieval service for a competitive monthly subscription cost.
Using remote access packages means that employees can gain access to email and company files as easily as if they were sat at their desk in the office. As staff communicate with clients and colleagues using wireless broadband it is important to ensure that emails are protected. Organising an email solution with included virus and spam filters can prove invaluable, as it prevents malicious attachments and files from landing in your inbox and helps minimise clutter caused by unsolicited mail. BT Business Email offers a variety of options to suit your email needs.
Encryption
No matter who gets their hands on your laptop, if it encrypted they will be unable to access and use the sensitive information stored on it. In this way, data is encoded with a keyword and can then be deciphered by certain recipient computers that have the key installed. In this way, you control who has access to the data by limiting who has the encryption key. For more information on this, see our previous feature.
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