Risk and Practice Management
Protect Your Laptop
Many lawyers are now using laptops as their primary computer in their practice. Laptops are great, in that they enable lawyers to work remotely, and from almost any location. However, because they are so portable, they are easily lost or stolen.
According to the FBI, a laptop is stolen every 53 seconds, and 97 per cent are never recovered. To protect yourself from losing your laptop or having it stolen, consider the following measures:
- Do not leave laptop unattended; do not check it as luggage; watch it carefully as it is passed through any x-ray devices.
- Do not leave laptop or other devices in your car, if at all possible; if you must leave it in the car, place it in the trunk before you arrive at your destination; keep your car locked at all times.
- If you are not going directly home, consider whether you really need to take your laptop home with you.
- Physically secure laptops with a lock and store in a locked file room or cabinet if you are leaving it in your office overnight.
- During the day use a lock to secure your laptop to your desk.
- If leaving your laptop in your hotel room, store it in your in-room safe.
- Consider installing software on your laptop that will either remotely delete the data you have stored on the laptop, and/or trace its location and allow law enforcement officials a chance at recovering your property. This software is relatively inexpensive. More information on such products can be found at: The Cyber Angel.