Computer theft and theft-prevention statistics : Computer theft is a far more prevalent problem than one might believe, just as efforts at computer theft prevention are much more ubiquitous than is commonly believed. The extent of computer theft and its associated risks are difficult to measure, primarily because only about 10% of computer crime gets reported.  *Radioactive information stolen -- Eight state-owned computers containing details on all of the New Mexico                      companies that use radioactive material were stolen from the state's Radiation Control Bureau (4/03)  *Phoenix crime spree -- At least six break-ins of financial institutions in the Phoenix area where hard drives were            specifically targeted. Organized crime and identity theft are the two leading theories. (2002)  *Law firm victimized -- the prestigious Palo Alto law firm of Cooley Godward LLP suffered a loss of over 200                    computers over a one-year period. An employee was charged with stealing 120 HP desktop computers and 90           laptops.  *FBI investigating hard drive theft -- TriWest had computer hard drives stolen that contain sensitive information             about 220,000 military personnel. Identity theft is the primary concern.  *School system loses 10,413 computers -- NSW Australia estimates a loss of $20 million over seven years due to           repetitive thefts. They are implementing a response program costing $11million, which includes physical locks            and clamps on all new computers, and many existing computers.  *$4.5 billion losses per Fortune 500 company -- Confidential surveys indicate data theft losses are staggering,               and as much as 80% of losses are due to insiders.  *Nuclear secrets lost -- The famous Wen Ho Lee case involved two computer hard drives containing nuclear                  design secrets gone missing for several days  *Navy missing computers - An internal audit found 187 computers unaccounted for, some containing sensitive               and classified information.  *Visa loses credit card information -- Over a quarter million credit card accounts were jeopardized when a                      desktop computer was stolen from a Visa data processing center.   *Property thefts on the rise -- Government statistics show property thefts against individuals and corporations                have risen as the economy has slowed down.   *Insiders are the culprits -- Reports indicate that as much as 80% of all computer crime, and 50% of all computer          crime against Fortune 500 companies, are committed by insiders.   *500,000 computers stolen in 2002 -- In a nationwide TV ad campaign, IBM states that there were 500,000                    computers stolen last year   *Total losses $5 Billion -- Estimated losses due to hardware theft.2 The FBI estimates $2 billion a month due to               loss of trade secrets.   *Top Ten Security Threat -- Information security ranked fourth for 2002.   *Everybody's doing it -- Roughly 90% of Fortune 500 companies install some form of physical security for their              computer systems.

What can we conclude from these facts and statistics? One
conclusion would be that the risks associated with computer
security breaches are real, and the breaches are both
widespread and in some cases devastating. In addition, in
most cases, the loss of computer DATA is the greatest risk.
Whether that data contains nuclear secrets or a marketing
plan, the threat to an organization can be extremely
serious, and in many cases, the perpetrators are the very
persons entrusted with the data in the first place, i.e. the
"insiders" that are repetitiously identified in the many
surveys.

If computer security breaches are so serious,
then why don't we hear more about computer
theft and its associated risks? A number of
influences contribute to the lack of public
awareness. To begin with, around 80% of
computer crime is committed by insiders.3 For
large companies, it's been reported that roughly
HALF of all security breaches come from inside
the organizations. It's rather obvious that the
threat in these kinds of cases is not from viruses
or outside hacking, it's from insiders gaining
access to computers and computer hardware
and stealing or sabotaging the data.

Resources :

* "Computer Security Issues & Trends," Computer Security Institute.
* FBI/Financial Institution Fraud Unit.
* RAND Report MR-1070-AEA,

It is generally believed that corporations do not want the publicity and embarrassment of their
weaknesses revealed, and certainly do not want to make the public any more aware of the
vulnerabilities and difficulties with theft prevention.