http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071019-brewery-offers-lifetime-supply-of-beer-in-return-for-stolen-laptop.html
By Eric Bangeman
October 19, 2007
Laptop theft is unfortunately common these days. It generally only makes
the news when the laptop in question belongs to a company or government
agency and contains enough personal data to make identity theft a very
real possibility for hundreds—or even thousands—of people. In the case
of a laptop stolen from the Croucher Brewing Company in Rotorua, New
Zealand, the laptop contained financial records, contract details, and
other proprietary information (maybe the recipe for its Belgian Blonde
ale?).
In an attempt to get the laptop back, the brewery is offering a somewhat
unusual reward: a lifetime supply of free beer. Whoever fingers the
thief will get a 12-pack per month (a bit skimpy, perhaps) for the rest
of their days, according to the BBC. That beer could really come in
handy for a dedicated Kiwi rugby fan trying to erase the memory of the
All Blacks' spectacular flame-out in the quarterfinals of the Rugby
World Cup two weekends ago.
Croucher appears to be on to something with its reward offer. Chances
are that the laptop is an aging vanilla Dell, HP, or other corporate
model. I suppose that if you don't have a laptop of your own, such a
machine might come in handy. But what would you rather have, a creaky
old laptop or a lifetime supply of your favorite brew? I know which one
I'd pick.
There are lessons to be learned from Croucher's laptop strategy, though,
lessons that other organizations that have suffered from lost or stolen
laptops could definitely put into action. Offer a compelling—and
unique—reward for the return of missing hardware. Here are some
suggestions:
* For the return of a lost or stolen Transportation Security
Administration hard drive: free bumps to the front of every
screening line, plus a first-class seat next to an air marshal on
the flights of your choice
* The IRS has suffered the theft and loss of several laptops. Those
finding and returning them should get a special finder's deduction
on their 1040 equal to the amount of their gross income for that
year.
* A US Department of Transportation laptop was stolen last year.
Anyone returning it should get a lifetime pass to the front of the
long, long lines at the local DMV
* Anyone returning one of the stolen Veterans Administration laptops
should get a lifetime of free medical care at the VA's expense...
from the Mayo Clinic.
* Return of the laptops stolen from a Seattle Apple Store? A
lifetime ticket to Apple's top-secret product development and
planning meetings.
Lost and stolen laptops cause big headaches not only for companies, but
for the people whose data is on there. Legislation introduced earlier
this week would allow US consumers to recover some of the costs
associated with data theft, but companies and the government both need
to take better care of their hardware, or at the very least, use
encryption—standard at the management consulting firm I used to work
at—to ensure that sensitive data is difficult, if not impossible, to
extract from pilfered hardware.
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