MyLaptopGPS

An article from wftv.com announced a smash and grab burglary on Monday, December 1, 2008. The burglar stole a single laptop directly from the Department of Revenue. The perp threw a brick through the window and grabbed one of the computers inside the office.

Police are unsure if the computer contained any sensitive information, and were unable to get in touch with whoever utilizes the office, so Lieutenant Jeff Harris of the Maitland Police Department says, “Until we speak to them we really don’t know.”

Seems to me that this is a top priority for the Maitland Police Department. No suspects, no information, no idea what is going on… and on top of that, the Florida Department of Revenue has not issued a press release regarding the stolen laptop.

So, Maitland residents, be careful when filing your taxes this year. It looks like no one really knows what goes on in the Department of Revenue.

MyLaptopGPS tracking could have saved a significant amount of time (not to mention money, while we’re on the subject of taxes) by recovering the data and the laptop as soon as the theft was reported.

On November 6th, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced that an Aging and Adult Services Division laptop was stolen sometime during the flight of an employee who was returning from a conference in Atlanta, GA.

In an article in Medical News Today, the NCDHHS assured that the laptop was password protected. However, passwords are easy enough to get around. Data encryption would be significantly more effective.

NCDHHS mentioned that the laptop contained the personal information of some of the clients receiving home and community services from the state. The Division of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS) has contacted each of the individuals whose information may have been compromised. The letter also provides guidance on how to place a fraud alert on your credit report, and how to monitor your credit report regularly as the victims’ sensitive data may not be used immediately.

Unfortunately, most of the victims in this incident are, in fact, elderly, and are only as familiar with the internet as anyone else in that generation. So the notifications, though helpful, create more of a hassle than any data encryption technology could possibly impose. The phone calls necessary for just ONE elderly individual to receive the proper credit coverage take hours at best.

And this extreme time-wasting issue could have been resolved easily had the stolen laptop been equipped with security technology such as that provided by MyLaptopGPS.