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How Common is Hardware Theft?

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by thunderforest 1 view

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We're well aware of safeguarding against identity theft and the like, but what about hardware theft within the company? I'm curious as to how common this may be and if anyone would like to share their experiences. The reason I ask is because recently the president of my company began complaining of poor performance in his Pentium 4 Windows XP Pro PC. Perhaps it should have been the first place to look, but it turned out to be the last as I found the PC memory was registering at 128MB. I had installed 256MB last October and was surprised to find a generic 128MB strip in the PC. The president, as well as the COO refused to believe someone had been brazen enough to swap the memory sticks. I mentioned that 256MB of memory can represent one-third the cost of some PCs and reminded them of some less than secure physical factors, such as the warehouse being open on weekends with an unlocked door not only to the outside, but to the office area as well, which is not staffed on weekends. I didn't go so far as to mention that adequate supervision may be lacking on the weekend and, although more unlikely, an office worker could have done this as well. Both the president and COO mentioned that very few people would have the knowledge to change a memory stick and I could only say, "I believe you would be surprised at what people know and how fast it can be done." In any event, despite the fact I can document the memory upgrade I performed on the president's PC, it all seemed to fall back on me. Personally, I think they are projecting their own ineptitude on to others and perhaps indulge in some false sense of security. Getting back to my question, how common are thefts of this nature?

9 replies

by choppit

We're only a small company but lately I've seen a few cases of keyboards and mice being swapped for defective ones (presumably from users homes). I've also recently seen instances of mobile phones being swapped for similar broken ones. Typically the user will call to me to say that their keyboard/mouse/phone has stopped working and when I point out that these are not the items issued of course they of course know nothing.....

A few years ago the (ex) MD would frequently report his mobile phone lost/stolen/dropped in a river and demand a replacement......

by gralfus

If it isn't bolted down, and sometimes even if it is, they will walk off with it. We even found a security guard crawling around under our desks early one morning. "Uh, I thought I heard something..." Yeah, right.

We have had expensive new shipments walk out of the receiving area, simply because no one is paying attention and we don't have good enforcement.

Video cameras and prosecution can help curb this behavior. Make employees responsible for their equipment (such as cell phones).

by angry_white_male

If you don't have a good asset management / inventory tracking system, you're asking for theft.

At the very least - you need to be sure you have the serial number, make, model of every piece of equipment married to an employee and physical location in some kind of database - whether it be a spreadsheet, Access database or 3rd party vendor asset management system. Barcode labels make the job much easier (we use WASP MobileAsset - $800 complete package). Make sure each item is marked in such a way that it identifies it as company property. Conduct inventory regularly. Keep your records up to date.

Silly things like RAM thefts - it's petty and it happens. Most PC cases can be locked if it becomes a concern or problem.

Of course, no matter how secure your facility is - equipment's gonna dissapear. Computers can be replaced - not a big deal - and Blackberries can be killed from the server should it get lost or stolen. However what you need to be most concerned about is data loss/theft. Make sure you're using a file system on each workstation that's secure (i.e., NTFS). Save all user data to a server (in other words - map "My Documents" to a network share only they can access) and backup nightly. Issue laptops, Palm pilots, phones, etc... only to those who have a real legitimate business need to have these items and make sure they're secure (PIN's on the PDA's, power-on passwords and workstation logon). Don't give into the "me too" syndrome when Employee X becomes envious of Employee Y's new portable eToy. Those who like to work from home don't need a laptop despite the bull$h!t story they give you (take-home laptops get stolen, broken, lost, and largely used for personal use). Set them up with VPN and remote desktop. Place restrictions on removeable media (CD's, thumb drives, etc.).

Things like new workstations / laptops need to be kept secured in a locked room/cabinet. Inventory new items as they are received. Make sure your company has procedures in place to notify IT when new shipments come in.

But like I said - hardware can be easily replaced. Keep your data physically secure - once the data is gone, it's gone. It ain't gonna be at CompUSA when you go to replace a laptop that was stolen yesterday.

by jkaras

WHen I was a supervisor in retail the no#1 reason for theft was internal not external. Studies nationide in all types of business attribute loss internally. Disgruntled employees justify compensating themselves through stealing to "even the score". Such factors are poor raises, poor morale, "everyone else is doing it". Work is no different than a hotel room with everyone taking a piece of this or that, its the cost of doing business.

Could it be that he took it and wants his pc to back up to snuff? Its an aliby, he gets free hardware and his pc might get upgraded. Best thing to do is document the theft, reference the original install to it and the replacement work order. Include the topics talked about concerning lack of security issues and make management sign it. I seriously doubt it will happen again and if it does then you got a rat in the house and the proof to start an investigation.

Your job is to maintain the security in the network not external factors beyond your control, anyone can open a pc and pull something out at any time. WHen the money starts getting out of hand these managers will have to deal with it properly. Cover your tuckus with paperwork invoices, work orders and set in the bios alert if cover removed, those settings should be locked down anyway and there would be your proof vs. your trouble tickets. Then institute a sign off sheet for equipment liability, that should fix everything.

by jeff dray

I remember upgrading RAM for a user, she did not believe that I had completed the task, she went off to make tea and when she came back the PC was running with the upgrade, she asked when i was going to start, saying that she had arranged to work in another department for the afternoon. I had to remove and replace the chips in front of her to make her see how quick it was.

by deepsand

If it's easily accessible, small & light enough to be easy secreted in one's pockets or carried accessories, and can be safely removed & transported, expect it to be at risk of growing legs & walking.

Items such as mice, cables, external modems, routers, bridges, hubs, power cords, power strips, surge protectors, brick style power supplies, small UPS, speakers, memory strips, memory sticks, dongles, add-in boards, media drives & media (diskettes, CDs, tape), etc. are all vulnerable.

However, they're much less likely to vanish than are office supplies, particularly those which are consumables.

by cbalness

2 examples at a place I was employed....

There was a "student/part time" user PC set up mere feet away from a surveillance camera and a security person down the hall. PC was used seasonally.One time it wouldn't boot. Sure enough, no memory in it.

2nd example, a co-worker and I were wheeling a cart with old to-be-retired PC's back to the IT shop. We stopped in the hall to chat with another co-worker. We came out less than 10 minutes later and one of the PC's was gone off the cart.

The funniest thing is we are in a "secure building" with security, and I have seen our security people open the doors for, and assist ladies carry out PC equipment without asking for any documentation of any kind to indicate they have bought discontinued devices or are allowed a work PC to tele-commute....

by cbalness

I also recall a couple of years ago, I beleive it may have been Australian Customs/Excise where at night, 2 gentlemen appeared in some sort of uniforms and informed the security personnel they were there to do some work on the PC equipment.

They returned shortly with an industrial size server on their 2 wheel dolly and informed security they were taking it back to "the shop".

Security nodded sagely and let them exit. Needless to say, this was not in fact scheduled maintenance, servers are NEVER taken off-site for repairs and some highly secure information left the premises. Does anyone recall if these folks were ever brought to justice ??

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