"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance"...if Jefferson were alive today, he'd be speaking about his laptop.

Did you know that the number of laptops reported lost or stolen rose more than 20% in the U.S. last year to 387,000? Assuming an average cost of $3,000 that puts the replacement cost at over $1.16 billion. Even that enormous amount does not take the loss of valuable information into consideration. 42% of these laptops were stolen from offices or cubicles. Beyond that, vehicles, hotels, and airports are the primary places where laptops are stolen. As laptops replace desktop computers, thefts are expected to rise. 

Why does this happen? There is a one-word answer: opportunity. The thief is provided with the opportunity to separate the victim from an expensive laptop computer because the victim presents the thief with the opportunity to do so. The thief simply takes advantage of the opportunity presented to him.

At airports, laptops are stolen from bathrooms, ticket counters, terminal waiting areas, shops, bars, restaurants, security checkpoints, and sometimes even on board the airplane. Often, either the theft occurs when the victim was intentionally or unintentionally distracted.

Many laptops are stolen from hotels, as travelers believe that hotels are secure locations. Why? Because the guest is provided with an electronic room key and the hotel seems to be a more controlled or business-like environment. And what about the common areas of the hotels? The meeting rooms, restaurants, and bars. Laptops are often stolen from these locations because the victim believes the area is secure.

Remember, often the most valuable thing lost is not the computer hardware, but the data the laptop contains. Information that could possibly be misused by someone else should always be kept on disk only and not on a laptop's hard drive. This type of information includes:

	Proprietary information
	Computer passwords and codes
	Personal ID data
	Telephone numbers
	Corporate business information

When in your office or cubicle at LifeScan, cable your laptop anytime you're away from your desk, even for short periods of time. Request a lockdown device by completing a Security Service Request Form. Secure it out of sight. After hours either take it with you or lock it away.

We need your help in order to protect the Company's resources and your own safety. Here are a few general rules that if followed, should help to insure that you are doing your best to be a conscientious guardian of our valuable property. 

	Be extra vigilant when traveling with a laptop.
	Look for suspicious activity in all public areas of the airport; at security checkpoints, in restaurants, and while seated in the terminal.
	Place your laptop under the airplane seat in front of you or in the overhead bin immediately over your seat.
	Take your laptop with you every time you leave your seat on the airplane.
	Make a habit out of always checking for personal items when leaving airplanes, hotel rooms, meeting rooms, restaurants, and other public areas.
	Secure your laptop with an authorized security cable to a large immovable object.

	Leave laptops unattended! This includes all areas of a passenger vehicle, conference sites, meeting rooms, airplanes, hotel rooms, etc.
	Check your laptop while traveling. Carry it with you.
	Place your laptop on the airport security conveyor until immediately before you pass through the metal detector.
	Travel with confidential information on your laptop, unless it has been properly encrypted.
	FORGET YOUR COMPUTER, even for brief periods.