The theft of PCs and laptop computers has become a real and very serious problem over the last five years or so. As computers are upgraded, so the black market for components continues to increase – and the problem intensifies still further.
The repercussions for end user organisations are two-fold: first, the repair bills for damaged property and the replacement of expensive computer equipment can be astronomical and, second, the loss of work and confidential data is often inestimable.
Not surprisingly, it’s the latter that proves to be the most costly, as the disruption to the smooth running of almost any business – and most are computer-reliant these days – is both difficult to quantify and almost impossible to insure against. Inevitably, it’s always more expensive than first anticipated.
The sheer scale of the problem has been evidenced on a regular basis, both this year and at the tail end of 2000. Back then, Deutsche Bank’s City of London offices on Houndsditch fell prey to thieves who stole key components from up to 50 separate computers. Fortunately there were no client details on the computers and no sensitive information was lost, but the theft cost the bank more than GB pound 1 million for replacement systems.
The thieves – 29-year-old Tony Manigan and his partner in crime, 21-year-old John Sheehan – were finally jailed for six years last May for a series of thefts that raked in no less than GB pound 3 million of Sun Microsystems equipment. Some were accounted for by the Deutsche Bank raid, the remainder including server boards stolen from Islington-based Internet service provider Net Benefit and the ‘proceeds’ of raids at Chase Manhattan Bank (again in the City).
Last September, Sunday Times reporter David Leppard detailed a far more sinister series of robberies, once more involving Sun Microsystems computers. Apparently, motherboards – the electronic units that control mainframe computers – had been stolen from more than a dozen City banks, telecoms companies and scientific research centres in raids that detectives believe were orchestrated by "middlemen seeking to supply Iraq and rogue African states with embargoed microchip technologies."
Such thefts are fuelling the aforementioned burgeoning black market for components designed to circumnavigate sanctions imposed by Britain, the US and other western states on the export of fast computers and other high-speed communications equipment.
When it comes to laptops, the problem is just as bad. Only last April, armed thieves stole more than GB pound 60,000 worth of laptop computers after smashing their way into the Birmingham offices of the Britannic Assurance Group.
A solution to the problem
Clearly, end users are facing a major threat to their computer hardware and systems. In view of such raids, a great many experts on computer and IT security are urging managers to thoroughly review the security of their server rooms and physical hardware provision.
While speaking to SMT, Peter Yapp of the Control Risks Group stressed the need for companies to be particularly vigilant when it comes to vetting temporary staff, and to make sure that all IT staff are fully aware of the company’s security policies.
"Access to server rooms must be secure, all doors should be protected by access codes or smart card locks and high value IT equipment marked with invisible identifiers," said Yapp. "It’s also a good idea not to leave any packaging from expensive computer equipment lying around outside. That’s nothing less than a red rag to a bull for any would-be thieves who happen to pass by."
In terms of pure physical security measures, both tower and desktop entrapments are an excellent idea. The best commercially-available products are manufactured from powder-coated steel, and will adjust to the size of a given tower should your IT manager opt for a change of system. The best thing about such devices is that they prevent memory chip and/or drive theft and tampering, while allowing continual, unhindered use of the computer. Entrapments are typically bolted to the floor or desk.
Loss Prevention Certification Board-approved mini-tower security cages are offered by Birmingham-based computer security solutions developer Dalen Top-Tec. Both the T-T 450/1 and T-T 450/2 cages are recommended by many of the major insurance groups, as well as the police under the Secured By Design stamp of approval. The units are height-adjustable, and would be secured to the floor and wall of the office.
The majority of today’s dealer floors – and indeed many office environments – are dominated by flat screen computers. They will also need to be secured. The best physical security brackets will be secured by two high security locks and fixed down by bolting through the work surface into slimline bars beneath. Opportunist and professional thieves alike should then be sufficiently deterred.
Securing your laptop computers
Laptop security systems are widely available, though not all are certified to Loss Prevention Certification Board standards. Again, those manufactured by Dalen Top-Tec are certified to such standards, and subsequently recommended by many of the industry’s independent consultants.
Basic systems would comprise a baseplate, two types of interchangeable bracket and interchangeable key-lock cover. In use, the brackets and cover lock into the same baseplate, which then bolts onto the desktop. A strikingly simple and yet highly effective solution to satisfy security requirements.
Security cables are another way of deterring laptop theft. Such locking mechanisms make use of the security slot which can be found on most laptop models. Typically, the cable will be looped around a heavy, fixed object – such as a desk – and then secured. The computers may be locked up at all times, but can still be used. An inexpensive security solution.
PC monitors, printers and scanners may also be secured in the same way, provided that they have the all-important ‘security slot’.
If you still don’t feel comfortable with leaving laptops lying around in an open-plan office environment, it’s possible to specify aptly-named ‘nightsafes’. Manufactured from high-grade steel, Dalen’s feature 10,000 effective differs (by way of comparison, most insurers specify only 5,000). Each section of a given safe is supplied with its own individual and different key to offer the maximum level of security. SIM cards and mobile ‘phones can also be stored here, while the units may be multi-stacked or bolted to the wall or floor.
The message is clear. Don’t let computer theft add to your company’s burden. Given the current climate, now is an opportune time to protect your company’s operational future.
