Dell and the Ponemon institute released the findings of a study of "lost laptops and business travelers". The results are beyond alarming.

• Up to 12,000 laptops are lost in United States airports each week
• Between 65 and 70 percent of lost laptops are never reclaimed
• Most laptops are lost at security checkpoints
• 53 percent of business travelers surveyed carry sensitive corporate information on their laptop
• 65 percent of those who carry confidential information have not taken steps to protect it while traveling
• 42 percent of respondents say they do not back up their data

12,000 lost laptops every week is a staggering number. But the worst part is that most of them (40%) are lost at a TSA checkpoint and that two thirds of them are never even reclaimed!

Some simple math shows that over 400,000 laptops are lost and never reclaimed each year. The worst airport is LAX, where 1200 laptops are left behind every week. That is about 8 laptops an hour.

To me, this doesn’t only reflect badly on us users, it reflects badly on the TSA. The findings of this report make it clear that the TSA has extremely poor safeguards in place to prevent people from forgetting their equipment.

The TSA needs to take a close look at these results and do the right thing. Business travelers are losing $975 Million worth of laptops each year during their checkpoint procedures and it is obvious they need to develop a better solution. Of course the stress of travel is going to make people forget a few things, but these numbers are a disgrace.

That said; it isn’t 100% clear how the data in the study was gathered, nor does it appear that the TSA supplied the exact numbers.

Nevertheless, the loss of a laptop at the airport can be prevented, and losing your machine does not necessarily mean it is gone for good. Later this week I will post some helpful tips on how to retrieve your laptop.

You can read the full results of the study here.