These two YouTube videos show just how common the potential for private or sensitive data, intellectual property or even identity theft is when people are working in environments they feel comfortable and “secure” in.

I see this all the time in airport lounges and trains every time I travel, and it beggars belief that people do not realise quite how vulnerable they are. If your laptop is stolen  in a situation like this, it is very likely that even if it is encrypted it won’t matter as the thief will have the laptop after the boot time password has been entered.

How many millions of whatever currency you work in could your company be culpable for, and for what? An employee who doesn’t have the common sense to make sure they don’t leave their laptop vulnerable.

Of course, it is actually quite easy to steal a laptop from almost literally under your nose as the second video shows (It gets interesting at about 1:40).  At least in this case encryption might actually help!