Theft of Hardware - a case study

The Organisation

A national testing, training and research centre for specialist technology used in the sub-sea industry based in northern Scotland.

What Happened

A thief broke into the research centre via a damaged fence and stole mobile telephones, cash and a laptop computer belonging to a subcontractor. The theft took place whilst staff were busy performing a test.

Up to five years' worth of work was stored on the laptop hard disc. Although the device was valued at a few hundred pounds, the software was worth as much as 15,000 GBP. This was low compared to the value of the research information the device contained. It also stored thousands of e-mails, source documents, web pages and other data.

Although there was a backup of the data, it was incomplete and stored on many CDs. The cost of rebuilding the information would run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Impact

There were immediate direct costs involved in rebuilding the data, as well as immediate losses when the subcontractor was unable to operate effectively. The subcontractor would probably have suffered unquantifiable harm to its reputation, which would affect future contractual negotiations.

Lessons

Back up your data. Never rely on a single store of informationIf your data stores are large, prioritise what is essential and make sure it is backed up in a structured manner that makes rebuilding priority systems and applications as quick and easy as possible.

Physical security is an effective tool in preserving information. Make sure you maintain a secure perimeter if your systems and processes handle valuable information.