In the last year, travelers left behind more than 8,000 mobile devices at seven of the largest airports in the country.
Research from Credant Technologies found that of the seven airports surveyed — Chicago O’Hare, Denver International, San Francisco International, Charlotte Douglas, Miami International, Orlando International and Minneapolis/St. Paul — only one reported that they transfer their mobile devices over to the authorities.
Credant’s research found that the following types of devices were left behind:
- Smartphones and tablets: 3,444 (43 percent)
- Laptops: 3,576 (44.6 percent)
- USB drives: 996 (12.4 percent)
“These research findings are a wake-up call for CSOs and security managers across all enterprise organizations and SMBs,” Bob Heard, founder and CEO of Credant Technologies, said in a news release. “With widespread BYOD adoption, companies must be vigilant in securing data wherever it resides. Be it a USB drive, a laptop, a tablet or a smartphone, unsecured data puts companies at risk – making it critical to encrypt data both at rest and in motion.”