After NetTrace made an IP trace through the Internet to a house in Pretoria West, inspectors from Wierda Brug Police Station swiftly recovered a stolen laptop and arrested two individuals, one a long-serving security guard.
The computer was stolen from Development Bank South Africa`s premises over five months ago with no signs of forced entry, and although head of Development Bank`s security department, Graham Stopforth, had his suspects, he could never prove anything. Until now that is! The thief apparently didn`t know that the Acer laptop had been loaded with stealthy software that is designed to keep track of computers.
The software is called NetTrace Loss Control and is based on a product from Absolute Software in Canada. At regular intervals, the computer relays its location to a main office.
The stolen laptop gave its location as a house in Pretoria West and was accessing the Internet through a prominent service provider. That gave police enough information to obtain search warrants for release of information from the service provider and this led to the exact home address.
"We executed a search at the residence early in the morning and came up with the stolen property. Two suspects were arrested, one for possession of stolen goods and one for burglary. The second of whom has been a suspect in previous theft cases dating back years," said Inspector Stander of the Wierda Brug Police Department.
NetTrace Loss Control is designed to cut down on computer loss and crime committed by internal employees.
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