Stolen Laptops and The Associated Costs
According to Gartner, a laptop is stolen every 53 seconds. Another research study claims that 1 of every 10 laptops will be stolen during its lifespan. In this era of data breaches, not only should users be concerned about loss of data due to a stolen device, but the downtime and cost associated with replacing your device.
A client recently called us to say that his laptop had been stolen from his car while traveling on business in San Francisco. Fortunately, we encrypt every laptop that we configure (meaning that without a password, no data could be stolen, and if the hard drive were to be removed from the device, it would be useless), so our client wasn’t at risk for a data breach. It was, however, an impediment to his ability to do business, as well as a hassle.
Keep Laptops Secure
Our client explained to us that, whenever he rents a car, he gets one that has a trunk (think ‘sedan’) so that any valuable items are stored away from prying eyes. Due to the current shortage of rental cars (thanks, COVID), no sedans were available, and our client was forced to leave his laptop bag and duffle on the floor of his rental SUV. While walking to his car from his hotel, he received a call from an unknown 415 (San Francisco area code) phone number. The woman on the other end said she’d found his laptop bag in the middle of a roadway. He didn’t believe it until he got back to his vehicle, only to find a shattered window and missing bags.
Eyewitnesses on the scene said that a car drove up, two men jumped out, smashed the window, grabbed the bags, and then argued about who got to ride “shotgun” in the get-away car (nobody ever said criminals are smart). The laptop bag with ID was quickly thrown out the window, and the laptop will most likely never be seen again. But what costs are associated with a theft like this?
The laptop originally cost in the ballpark of $2,000, three years ago. While it was nearing the end of what we would expect its useful life would be, it was still doing the trick for the user. He was using an Azure AD account for backups (don’t ever store important information on your hard drive if you don’t have to, and always have a reliable, recoverable backup solution in place) so it was quick to get him back up and running on a loaner laptop.
Laptops Are In High Demand
So, corporate data was secure, but how about getting that new laptop? If you’ve been reading the news lately, you know about the shortage in chips used to power everything from cars to refrigerators to laptops. According to Intel, it may well be two years before the supply of chips can meet the existing demand. We’ve seen that first hand with the advent of #workfromhome. When lockdowns hit back in March of 2020, workers went home (some yet to come back) and laptop demand skyrocketed. At the same time, the supply chain started to suffer. Laptop availability plummeted and costs skyrocketed. After a brief return to normal in terms of our ability to source laptops for our clients, we’re back to hunting for hens’ teeth. Just as it is with switches, laptop availability for some models tells us to expect delivery in December. Those laptops that are available have increased in price by anywhere from 15-30%.
Start Shopping Now
What to do? As mentioned earlier, we generally expect a properly appointed laptop to have a useful lifespan of two to three years, depending on the user’s needs. If you’re coming to the end of your device’s usefulness, it’s probably not a bad idea to start shopping now. If a new unit isn’t readily available, refurbished devices are oftentimes an excellent solution, albeit it for a shorter time period. They typically come with a one year warranty, and we’ve had great success with these for many of our clients. Regardless of new or used, you should expect to pay more. And when you do find a new device, make sure that it uses full disk encryption, and that all the data is properly backed up to another device and easily recoverable.
