Recently, Dell commissioned the Ponemon Institute to perform a survey of airports and business travellers regarding laptops used for travel.

In the survey, which can be viewed by clicking HERE, the survey extrapolated their findings to conclude that over 12,000 laptops are lost at US airports per week, on average.

In addition to this incredible statistic, business people were asked if they carried laptops with company data on them while travelling, and if so, how they protected that data in case of loss or theft.

Over 40% of respondents said they did carry customer data and/or business confidential information. Of those respondent who carried confidential information on laptops while traveelings, 65% indicated they did not use any kind of protection. Furthermore, 34% of those who said they did have a way of protecting the information did not know how it was protected.

People think they are either much better at managing the security of their information than they are, or they feel it is highly unlikely they will need to protect their information while travelling with it.

If you think it's unlikely that you will lose your data while travelling, just remember 12,000 per week are lost in airports, and most do not have protection. It can happen to you.