The Ponemon Institute released a study last June that estimates over 600,000 laptops go missing in U.S. airports every year. In the largest airports, the authors believe 10,000 laptop computers are lost or stolen each week! Medium sized airports account for another 2,000 cases. The study, titled “Airport Insecurity: Case of the Lost Laptops”, goes on to conclude that only about a third of the computers are every returned to their owners. Incredibly, the final tally for lost or stolen laptops adds up to a whopping 630,000, each and every year.

Needless to say, laptop security has increased in awareness over the last few months.

Airport Security Does Nothing for Computer Theft

A few seconds of separation between yourself and your laptop at the security checkpoint is all it takes for a thief to swipe your precious machine. Given the confusion and chaos of busy airports, its easy to see why they now rank at the top of the list with parked cars and hotels as the favorites target of laptop thieves.

These staggering loss numbers for laptops and other portable devices are a major concern for business, given the often highly sensitive and sometimes irreplaceable data these machines can hold.

While most casual travelers don’t tend to have much sensitive information on their laptops, many business travelers are transporting an average of $525,000 worth of critical data, according to estimates from iBahn, a provider of secure broadband services to conferences and hotels. More and more security firms, as well as iBahn, are now recommending the use of encryption software to secure sensitive data on laptops.

Laptop Encryption Is The Answer

No matter how careful you try to be, there is always the possibility that your laptop will end up in the wrong hands. While the computer itself may be lost, it’s vitally important that the data it contains not be accessible to anyone but you. Encryption software offers the best defense against unauthorized data access.

Here are a few of the benefits encryption software provides:

* On-the-fly government-quality encryption

* Impenetrable folder and file security

* Road warrior friendly – security for laptops, USB flash drives and other portable media

There are a variety of encryption solutions capable of building a virtual fortress on your computer. These programs work quickly and provide security for your desktop or laptop computer, flash drive and other removable storage media. Protecting your files doesn’t have to set you back, as most programs are can be found for $20 to $40, with most offering a free trial. There are even some free programs available as well, although they tend to be a little more complicated to use and are often lacking in documentation and support.