Nothing stirs up fear and panic like a missing smartphone or laptop. Whether it’s for business or personal use, these little devices captivate a large part of our lives – more than we would often like to admit.
With all that personal information stored in one location, it becomes your very own digital footprint, one that you do not want to fall in the wrong hands.
On the plus side, it could be a reason for you to upgrade to the latest and best model, however, the phone itself isn’t the concern here. it’s all about the data. All that data that is on the device itself and all the data that the device has access to through cloud applications and website logins (saving your login credentials? You should think twice about that).
Every year there are approximately 70 million lost smartphones. 70 million sources of personal data waiting to be scooped up. Only 7% are recovered by the owner.
Unfortunately, the workplace is where theft, all too often, occurs. Right there in the office is where about 52% of stolen devices vanish.
Was it a work device? Now you have a bigger problem. The potential of a data privacy violation, company breach, ransomware attack….possibly leading to a fine…you get the picture.
In 2020 the Lifespan Health System suffered a breach due to a stolen, unencrypted laptop. The result? A $1.04 million dollar fine kind of result.
The bottom line – protect what matters.
The First Few Minutes Are Critical
If you loose your device, act fast. The quicker you find it, the less of a chance your sensitive information is at risk.
What’s On your Device?
A smartphone, tablet or laptop in the hands of a criminal can be a gold mine. What do they gain access to? Well, all sorts of things:
- Documents
- Photos & videos
- Access to any logged-in app accounts
- Passwords stored in a browser
- Cloud storage access
- Emails
- Text messages
- Multi-factor authentication prompts that come via SMS
- And more
Steps to Take Immediately After Missing Your Device
Mitigate the risk of a breach of your personal/business information and act fast. Here are a few things you can do right away to help protect yourself:
Activate a “Lock My Device” Feature
Most devices now come equipped with a “lock my device” feature. If enabled, you will be able to remotely lock down the stolen device to help prevent access and tampering. Location services will also need to be enabled. Sure, an advanced thief may be able to crack a passcode (make it a good one!), but enabling this feature will certainly put a roadblock in the process.
Devices also come equipped with a “find my device” feature. Use caution here. This is a great feature to use if your device is lost, however you certainly don’t want to track down your device and meet face to face with the thieves in the event that it was stolen.
Work Device? Report it Missing Right Away
If the device was for business use, report it to your company immediately. If it was your personal device used only for work emails, it is still important to report it. You wouldn’t want you company network being exposed!
Report immediately so your company can act fast. It’s one of the best ways to reduce the risk.
Log Out & Revoke Access to Cloud Tools
A majority of devices will allow you to stay logged into your cloud applications. Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Google Drive, etc.
Log in to your cloud from a browser on another device and force all other devices to log out (or the specific lost device if that option is available).
Disconnecting the device prevents access to your cloud data.
Log Out & Revoke Access to Cloud Storage
Is your device syncing to a cloud storage platform? Revoke access to this as well. This connection can be exploited by a criminal and used to access, delete, or even corrupt your sensitive data.
Active a “Wipe My Device” Feature
Have you been backing up your devices? If not, you should. In the event of a stolen device, having a backup can provide you with a little peace of mind.
Now it doesn’t matter that it was lost or stolen. You can simply use the “wipe my device” feature to wipe out all of your important information to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.
Need o Protect Your Mobile Devices?
As you can see, mobile device management if an important aspect of any size practice. Contact us to learn more about mitigating the risk.