Since 2020, remote and hybrid workplaces have become almost as common as companies that require workers to be onsite. In fact, according to the US Census Bureau, the number of people working from home tripled between 2019 and 2021. While some companies have begun to require that employees return to the office, it looks like remote and hybrid work environments are here to stay. As of 2023, 12.7% of all full-time employees work from home and 28.2% work in a hybrid model. As a result, the widespread use of devices as a mobile workplace has become incredibly common, with 87% of companies relying on their employees using personal mobile devices to access company apps and 60% of today’s employees using such apps for work-related tasks. While the implementation of mobile devices can be a boon to productivity and flexibility in the workplace, it has also led to an increase in data security problems when said devices are lost, misplaced, or stolen. 

For example, one study found that 41% of all data breaches were the result of lost or stolen devices. In keeping with its trend as the worst-performing sector for almost every form of cyberattack, a whopping 68% of healthcare data breaches were caused by lost or stolen devices and only 23% of all healthcare breaches were not directly connected to the loss or theft of a device. On the whole in 2023, one poll discovered that 75% of respondents claimed to have experienced a “significant increase” in security incidents, with lost/stolen devices being one of the main causes (alongside stolen credentials, ransomware, and DDoS attacks). 

As the use of personal and professional devices as mobile workplaces has become commonplace, the issue of lost or stolen devices has become increasingly worrisome when it comes to data security for organizations of every sector and industry. But our security experts are here to help with ways to both understand the problem and methods for protecting yourself and your organization.

Why are Lost, Misplaced, or Stolen Devices such a Common Issue? 

As already discussed, the workforce became almost entirely remote during the COVID-19 pandemic era of 2020-2021. During that period, people stayed home during the lockdowns. Besides, when it came to work, there was nowhere to go even if one wanted to. Large events, symposiums, conferences, etc. were cancelled. Business travel went down to nearly zero. To put it simply, during the pandemic period when the nationwide work-from-home shift began, people stayed home with their devices. And it is hard to have your devices lost or stolen when you never leave the house. 

However, we now find ourselves in a post-pandemic world and the landscape of work has changed again. Business events and conferences are back to being held in person. Both personal and business travel have returned to normal levels. This means people are leaving home for various work-related activities… and they’re taking their devices with them. Unfortunately, this means that the likelihood of having these devices lost, misplaced, and/or stolen has spiked considerably. 

Believe it or not, loss of devices is more frequently due to them being misplaced or lost by the owner than from theft. In fact, misplaced items are the main reason for device loss and it happens in various locations. One study found that 40.36% of misplaced device events happened in private or personal locations, such as the user’s car or while attending a private event. The rest occurred on the street/in public places (15.36%), on public transport (11.6%), and even at the user’s office or workplace (14.91%). 

While device theft may be slightly less common, that’s not to say it doesn’t happen almost as frequently. The previously mentioned study found the most common place for device theft was in the home (34.2%), followed by theft at an office or workplace (15.3%), on the street (13.7%), and/or on public transport (11.1%).

How to Protect Your Organization from the Risks of Compromised Devices 

Device loss—whether misplaced or stolen—is not a matter of “if” but “when” for organizations. It will happen eventually (though hopefully not too often), especially for businesses with geographically distributed, hybrid, or remote workforces. Luckily, there are a number of things that can be done to protect your data from the repercussions of a loss: 

• Always use a strong password or passcode to restrict access to your device. 
• Enable biometric authentication such as Face ID or Touch ID anytime your device supports it. 
• Turn on “Find My” or similar device tracking features that let you locate, lock, or erase your device remotely if it is lost or stolen. 
• Regularly backup your data to a secure cloud service or an external drive. 
• Encrypt the data on your device (and on your backups). 
• Install anti-theft and antivirus software on your device (and make sure you download updates regularly or enable automatic updates) 
• Avoid connecting work devices to public or unsecured Wi-Fi networks and always use a VPN when browsing online. 
• Enable Stolen Device Protection on your iPhone if you have iOS 17.3 or later (this feature requires biometric authentication and time delays for certain actions when your device is away from familiar locations). 

Device management can be a burden on any organization, but it simply must be done. When your organization’s devices are lost or stolen, you need to be able to either locate and recover them or delete the data they have stored. Doing this in-house can be costly and frustrating. This is why UDT offers Lifecycle Services support and Cybersecurity Services that can take this problem off your plate.  

Contact our team today to discover how UDT can help you manage your devices, optimize your technology investment, and improve data security with our portfolio of customizable solutions.