Tech Tips Tuesday: “What to do if you lose your laptop (or other device)!”

 

 

So, you’re in the car on the way home from Starbucks, basking in the glow of consuming your triple-shot, low-foam, extra-hot pumpkin-spice latte, when you have one of those ‘Oh Crap’ moments suddenly realizing your laptop has gone missing. You drive back like the caffeinated lunatic you are, only to discover no one has turned it in. What do you do? That depends on what precautions you have (or haven’t!) taken.

Hello, Bryan Herbstritt here with Fidelitech Solutions, your local trusted IT Services and Cyber Security Partner.

Today’s Tech Tips Tuesday, tip of the day is “What to do if you lose your laptop (or other device)!”

First, if you’ve properly encrypted your data, password-protected the access to your device and shut down and logged off all key applications, and locked your device you’ve got a bit more time to respond. But the first thing to do, whether or not you’ve taken those precautionary measures, is to notify your IT department that you’ve lost your device. This way your IT department can change passwords and lock access to applications and data a thief may gain access to via your unprotected device. Your IT department may also be able to remotely wipe your device to make sure no one will be able to gain access to the data stored on your device. (Which is also why it’s CRITICAL to back up your data on a daily basis!)

Next, change ALL the passwords to every website you log in to, starting with the master password for any password vault or manager you may use followed by any gmail or appleID accounts that may be cached on the device.  Next change passwords for any company sites that contain financial data (your bank account) or company data. If your laptop contained medical records, financial information or other sensitive data (like social security numbers, card holder data, birthdays, etc.), then you need to contact a qualified attorney or your company’s legal department to understand what you may be required to do by law to notify individuals who may be affected. Quite simply, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so make sure you’re engaging your IT department or US to encrypt and back up your data, as well as put remote monitoring software on all mobile devices. Set a 6 plus digit pin-code lock or password requirement to access a device after 10 minutes of inactivity and get into the habit of logging out of websites and locking your devices when you’re done using them.

If you have questions about cyber security or some other IT-related issues for your business? Go to https://www.Fidelitech.net/discoverycall to book a quick, 10-minute call.

For a free security assessment, schedule an appointment at https://www.fidelitech.net/semperarmor.

#cybersecurity #encryption #BitLocker #VeraCrypt #dataprivacy #ITSupport #ITServices