Oh No! I’ve Just Lost My Work Laptop/ Smartphone… Now What?
Losing a work laptop or phone can leave you in a state of panic. It is a terrible experience. Most times, it is not the cost of purchasing the work device that gets at you but the amount of information on the device. Many employers rely on employees to use work laptops or phones to get their work done. While most of your employees do their best to keep these devices safe, you cannot rule out that there may be occasional losses.
In addition, you can’t always expect employees to properly protect their devices. When your work laptop or smartphone goes missing, it’s not a time for you to dwell on regrets. Instead, it would help if you swing into action immediately. While you may be uncertain of the next line of action to take, we’ve provided specific steps that will help you handle the problem appropriately and minimize the loss of sensitive information. We’ll discuss the appropriate steps to take when your work laptop or smartphone is lost or stolen and how you can prevent a future occurrence.
6 Steps To Take If Your Work Laptop/Smartphone Gets Lost
If you have lost your work laptop and Smartphone, follow these steps:
1. Contact the appropriate departments
Contact your IT department to take care of the situation as soon as possible. If your work laptop or smartphone contains essential information, do not hesitate to reach out to the department as quickly as you notice the device is missing.
2. Active tracking software
If tracking software has been installed on the device, the IT department can remotely wipe the data on the laptop or smartphone. In the same vein, you should also contact your human resources department as your identity is also at stake.
3. Inform the police
You cannot ignore the role of the police authorities in cases of missing items, especially when it involves an organization. File a police report and provide them with the serial numbers of the work laptop or smartphone that has gone missing.
4. Lock down credit
If you have conducted financial transactions using the missing laptop or smartphone, you’ve to freeze your credit. When you freeze your credit, it will not allow companies to run a credit check on you. This will make it difficult for criminals to open bogus accounts using your personal information. Some examples of financial transactions include personal banking, credit card accounts, and any other economic activities requesting your account details and information. You can contact credit bureaus such as Equifax and TransUnion.
5. Change your email password
Anyone who steals your work laptop or smartphone can gain access to the emails and browsing history. This will make it very easy for them to discover much personal information, including where you work and your bank information. Don’t take chances with this. Immediately after you notice that your work devices are missing, access your emails and change your password. This will make it challenging for them to carry out malicious activities through your account.
6. Disconnect the device from cloud accounts
The lost device is most likely logged into multiple apps, from social media accounts to business tools. Visit these accounts in a browser and navigate to the authorized device settings. Then disconnect the device by logging it out and removing it from the authorized devices list.
How To Prevent Data From Getting Lost on Your Future Work Laptop/Smartphone
You wouldn’t want a repeat of what you experienced. As such, you are most likely eager to protect sensitive information on your work devices better this time. Here’s how you can go about it.
Use a strong password
If you want to protect the information on your work laptop or smartphone, you’ve to get a strong password. Then, you will always ensure that you input your password on your phone or laptop anytime you want to access it. In the same vein, do not save your passwords on any website.
Encrypt your hard drive
You can use various services to encrypt your information with Microsoft BitLocker. You can do this by registering services so that the data can quickly be recovered when your items are missing. Encryption keeps thieves from being able to access the data on a stolen laptop.
Make use of backup
Always use a backup to protect your essential data on your hard drives and mobile devices. Ensure you don’t keep vital information on your work laptops or smartphones that are unprotected by encryption.
Consult Copperband Technologies For Data Recovery Services
When your work devices go missing, it can leave you devastated. In addition, it exposes your organization to different types of attacks.We offer various services to protect and keep your data away from fraudulent individuals. This service keeps sensitive information safe even when your work laptop/ smartphone gets lost. Contact us at 931.263.8000 or reach out to us online.
