With laptop sales growing annually at about 10% a year, and more and more workers entrusting often critical data to their machines, it is becoming increasingly important to ensure that laptops are secure from both physical and virtual tampering.
Biothentix has announced a new PC card-based security solution that director Terry Morrison says will go a long way to ensuring the safety of mobile machines.
Morrison says the Caveo anti-theft PC card is self-sufficient, containing a motion sensor, processor, secure storage, alarm and a rechargeable battery. It works whether the laptop is on or off, and the entire application is transparent to the user.
"It offers three levels of protection," says Morrison. "There is an alarm for deterrence, a 16-digit alphanumeric password to protect the operating system and an industry-standard encryption device that secures encryption keys on the card and protects the data. In short, it is capable of turning the laptop into a brick in the right circumstances."
He says the technology is based on micro-machined motion sensors integrated with a special software program to analyse motion, determine whether a threat exists and then implement an appropriate response.
If a laptop equipped with the PC card is moved while it is armed, it sets off an alarm. The user can also pre-set the area within which the laptop will be mobile. Should the laptop be moved a greater distance, the system assumes it is being stolen and sets off the alarm, shuts down the computer, prevents any start-up action and secures the encryption keys.
Morrison says this security approach makes it extremely difficult for thieves to get away with a laptop and even more difficult for them to sell it. "By limiting the prospects of earning a profit from the theft, thieves tend to look elsewhere for softer, easier targets."
He cautions, however, that no product on its own will completely eradicate theft "because of the human element".
Morrison recommends that management take responsibility by developing a laptop security policy and safe practice guidelines; identifying laptop assets with tamper-proof tags; adopting appropriate physical security measures; implementing backup procedures for laptop users both locally and remotely; and adopting user encryption technology.
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