Laptop theft: A case study on the effectiveness of security mechanisms in open organizations

Trajce Dimkov; Wolter Pieters; Pieter Hartel

doi:10.1145/1866307.1866391

Laptop theft: A case study on the effectiveness of security mechanisms in open organizations

Trajce Dimkov, Wolter Pieters, Pieter Hartel

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedings/Edited volume › Conference contribution › Scientific › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Organizations rely on physical, technical and procedural mechanisms to protect their IT systems. Of all IT systems, laptops are the probably the most troublesome to protect, since they are easy to remove and conceal. When the thief has physical possession of the laptop, it is difficult to protect the data inside. Organizations open to the public, such as hospitals and universities, are easy targets for laptop thieves, since every day many people wander in the premises. In this study, we look at the effectiveness of the security mechanisms against laptop theft in two universities. We analyze the logs from laptop thefts in both universities and complement the results with penetration tests. The results from the study show that surveillance cameras and access control have a limited role in the security of the organization and that the level of security awareness of the employees plays the greatest role in stopping a theft.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	CCS'10 - Proceedings of the 17th ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security
Pages	666-668
Number of pages	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/1866307.1866391
Publication status	Published - 16 Dec 2010
Event	17th ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security, CCS'10 - Chicago, IL, United States Duration: 4 Oct 2010 → 8 Oct 2010

Conference

Conference	17th ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security, CCS'10
Country	United States
City	Chicago, IL
Period	4/10/10 → 8/10/10

Keywords

Case study
Laptop theft
Penetration tests
Physical security
Security awareness
Social engineering

Access to Document

10.1145/1866307.1866391

Link to publication in Scopus

Fingerprint Dive into the research topics of 'Laptop theft: A case study on the effectiveness of security mechanisms in open organizations'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this

@inproceedings{a50f479eb2b14217bb01f076c79cb688,

title = "Laptop theft: A case study on the effectiveness of security mechanisms in open organizations",

abstract = "Organizations rely on physical, technical and procedural mechanisms to protect their IT systems. Of all IT systems, laptops are the probably the most troublesome to protect, since they are easy to remove and conceal. When the thief has physical possession of the laptop, it is difficult to protect the data inside. Organizations open to the public, such as hospitals and universities, are easy targets for laptop thieves, since every day many people wander in the premises. In this study, we look at the effectiveness of the security mechanisms against laptop theft in two universities. We analyze the logs from laptop thefts in both universities and complement the results with penetration tests. The results from the study show that surveillance cameras and access control have a limited role in the security of the organization and that the level of security awareness of the employees plays the greatest role in stopping a theft.",

keywords = "Case study, Laptop theft, Penetration tests, Physical security, Security awareness, Social engineering",

author = "Trajce Dimkov and Wolter Pieters and Pieter Hartel",

year = "2010",

month = dec,

day = "16",

doi = "10.1145/1866307.1866391",

language = "English",

isbn = "9781450302449",

pages = "666--668",

booktitle = "CCS'10 - Proceedings of the 17th ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security",

note = "17th ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security, CCS'10 ; Conference date: 04-10-2010 Through 08-10-2010",

}

Dimkov, T, Pieters, W & Hartel, P 2010, Laptop theft: A case study on the effectiveness of security mechanisms in open organizations. in CCS'10 - Proceedings of the 17th ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security. pp. 666-668, 17th ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security, CCS'10, Chicago, IL, United States, 4/10/10. https://doi.org/10.1145/1866307.1866391

Laptop theft : A case study on the effectiveness of security mechanisms in open organizations. / Dimkov, Trajce; Pieters, Wolter ; Hartel, Pieter.

CCS'10 - Proceedings of the 17th ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security. 2010. p. 666-668.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedings/Edited volume › Conference contribution › Scientific › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - Laptop theft

T2 - 17th ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security, CCS'10

AU - Dimkov, Trajce

AU - Pieters, Wolter

AU - Hartel, Pieter

PY - 2010/12/16

Y1 - 2010/12/16

N2 - Organizations rely on physical, technical and procedural mechanisms to protect their IT systems. Of all IT systems, laptops are the probably the most troublesome to protect, since they are easy to remove and conceal. When the thief has physical possession of the laptop, it is difficult to protect the data inside. Organizations open to the public, such as hospitals and universities, are easy targets for laptop thieves, since every day many people wander in the premises. In this study, we look at the effectiveness of the security mechanisms against laptop theft in two universities. We analyze the logs from laptop thefts in both universities and complement the results with penetration tests. The results from the study show that surveillance cameras and access control have a limited role in the security of the organization and that the level of security awareness of the employees plays the greatest role in stopping a theft.

AB - Organizations rely on physical, technical and procedural mechanisms to protect their IT systems. Of all IT systems, laptops are the probably the most troublesome to protect, since they are easy to remove and conceal. When the thief has physical possession of the laptop, it is difficult to protect the data inside. Organizations open to the public, such as hospitals and universities, are easy targets for laptop thieves, since every day many people wander in the premises. In this study, we look at the effectiveness of the security mechanisms against laptop theft in two universities. We analyze the logs from laptop thefts in both universities and complement the results with penetration tests. The results from the study show that surveillance cameras and access control have a limited role in the security of the organization and that the level of security awareness of the employees plays the greatest role in stopping a theft.

KW - Case study

KW - Laptop theft

KW - Penetration tests

KW - Physical security

KW - Security awareness

KW - Social engineering

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78650031431&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1145/1866307.1866391

DO - 10.1145/1866307.1866391

M3 - Conference contribution

AN - SCOPUS:78650031431

SN - 9781450302449

SP - 666

EP - 668

BT - CCS'10 - Proceedings of the 17th ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security

Y2 - 4 October 2010 through 8 October 2010

ER -