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Lost: A $49,000 laptop computer

30.10.2009
About fifteen years ago, my husband and his colleague had their laptop computers stolen out of a car. They were fearful of reporting the incident to their boss, largely because the laptops had cost the company about $7,000 each. A $14,000 hit to the departmental budget was a serious blow. And back in those days, no one gave much thought to exposure of the data on the stolen devices.

My, how times have changed!

Today, companies don't sweat much over the loss of the hardware, which has dramatically come down in price. The real cost of a lost laptop is in the potential or actual exposure of the data on the PC, especially if it is customer records or intellectual property.

In April 2009, Ponemon Institute released an Intel-sponsored report entitled "The Cost of a Lost Laptop." Ponemon interviewed 29 organizations that had experienced 138 separates cases of a lost laptop that was used by an employee, temporary employee or contractor. The cases represented missing or stolen computers belonging to companies in a wide range of industry classifications.

In this study, the average value of a lost laptop is $49,246. This figure is derived from a calculation involving seven cost components, including: laptop replacement; detection and escalation; forensics and investigation; data breach reporting and mitigation; intellectual property loss; lost productivity; and other legal or regulatory costs.