Over 130,000 mobile phones and laptops are left in UK bars every year, with nearly two-thirds not adequately secured, according to new research from Eset.
The security vendor called up 600 bars nationwide and then extrapolated its answers based on the 11,162 establishments listed on Yell.com.
It found that on average 12 phones or laptops are left in a bar each year.
Although the majority of these devices are eventually reunited with their owners—at least 83% of the time—there remain privacy and security concerns.
Some 61% of bar staff claimed they make contact with the device owner by accessing it, while a similar number (60%) worryingly admitted that they would browse through a phone or laptop if it was unlocked.
On only 18% of occasions the lost device was handed in to the police.
Eset security specialist, Mark James, warned that with the festive party season coming up, more employees are likely to take mobiles and laptops out partying with them. Combine this with alcohol consumption and you have a recipe for device loss, he argued.
The risks aren’t just to personal privacy and security but also potentially to corporate data, if it’s a BYOD piece of IT kit.
“As our laptops and mobile phones begin to carry more and more sensitive information and are linked to bank and work accounts there is a greater need to protect them because the risks are much higher should the devices ever fall into the wrong hands,” said James
“What people need to start asking themselves is—could any of the data held on my mobile or laptop compromise me either personally or professionally if it fell into the wrong hands? If the answer is ‘yes’, which I expect it will be, then security on your device must be a priority, not an afterthought.”
Photo © Szasz-Fabian Jozsef