With DataProtect, FSC says that confidential data on a laptop can be protected, because if a machine is stolen, the support desk can access the system and save the confidential data centrally in the system - or, if necessary, completely delete such data.

Indeed, the help desk can also render the hardware useless via a so-called "kill pill". Again, exact details are hard to come by at the moment, but it seems that this kill pill does not entail a low level disk format to wipe the data. "After the system is blocked, the BIOS expects a password, but nothing happens to the data," FSC told Techworld in an email.

If the device is returned to the customer after the kill pill has been activated, users can remove the protection and boot the system again using a special password.

"Dialogue with our customers and our own research have all shown us that data security is one of the major concerns for company IT managers, especially when it comes to implementing a mobility strategy. That is why the reliable protection of sensitive data has topped the list of features for us to add to our business notebooks," said Paul Hoey, Head of Products and Marketing at FSC in a statement.

"The anti-theft protection solution provides us with an advanced and reliable protection mechanism against theft and data loss," he added.