Stolen laptops phone home

In the same month that an auditor from Ernst & Young lost a laptop containing the names, addresses and credit card details of almost 250,000 Hotels.com customers, the local government of Tarrant County in Texas had quite a different experience.

In March, a representative of Workforce Solutions of Tarrant County reported the loss of a laptop computer, while a salesman from Argyle in Texas had his business laptop stolen during a burglary.

Both companies use The CyberAngel Security Software on the devices. Last month, both computers covertly contacted The CyberAngel Security Monitoring Centre to report their location.

CyberAngel alerted local law enforcement authorities and provided them with the information to be able to secure search warrants.

The respective police departments responded quickly, and in both cases had retrieved the victim's computer within a few days.

All confidential information on the computers remained secure and intact, protected at boot-up by CyberAngel's encryption technology, the company said.

"It seems like everyday we hear of another theft of a computer resulting in a possible data breach," said Bradley Lide, chief executive at CyberAngel.

"Our type of product just makes sense in today's environment of constant theft. Corporate officers have an obligation to ensure that their company and client information is secure, and victims of theft need a mechanism to recover their assets."