14/06/2010

Stolen Laptop Leads Cops to Laptop Theft Ring in Sydney

SYDNEY, Australia –Tuesday, 15 June 2010, A Sydney man is thanking Absolute® Software and NSW Police for assisting with recovering his stolen laptop and putting the thief behind bars. On the 13th of March 2010 a Sydney man reported his laptop and other property was stolen from his car after a thief smashed in the side window.

The theft was reported to the NSW Police the same day. The laptop belonged to an employee of one of Australia’s major copier and printer companies who made the decision to include Computrace® by Absolute Software for the management and security of mobile computers, netbooks and smart phones when providing their employees with new Dell laptops.

Absolute Software was informed by the company on the 17th of March of the theft and so their theft recovery agents went to work. The first post-theft connection started on 31st of March 2010 originating from within Australia. Information gathered from Computrace led to a likely suspect and was passed on to the NSW Police through Absolute Software’s recovery partner, CPS (Corporate Protection Services).

NSW Police executed a search warrant on an Albion Park residence on the 4th of May 2010 and found thirteen (13) laptops. Three (3) were identified as stolen, however unfortunately the laptop in question wasn''''t amongst the lot.

Subsequently, the Absolute Software recovery team continued their investigation and provided NSW officer with additional information that lead NSW police to execute a second search warrant at a house in Oak Flats. This property turned out to be that of the suspect’s ex-wife and when officers arrived at the location the suspect was sitting in the lounge room using the stolen laptop in question.

The suspect was subsequently taken in for questioning and the laptop was returned to the rightful owner.

David Trotter, Director of Global Sales Operations at Absolute Software said, “Computrace provides peace-of-mind by physically recovering stolen computers and remotely deleting sensitive files from them.”, adding: “We deliver state-of-the-art computer lifecycle management technology allowing organisations to reduce IT costs, address regulatory compliance, combat computer theft, and optimise the productivity of their computer, netbook, and smartphone devices.”

Mark Winter, Managing Director at inTechnology Distribution, the local representation for Absolute Software said: “This is one example of why corporations and state educational institutions are mandating Computrace be deployed on every laptop given to students or staff. It’s not just about getting the laptop back; it’s also about locking up the bad guys that are stealing them in the first place. If we can catch the crooks and lock them up, then laptop theft will be a thing of the past. Computrace is a great deterrent for these laptop theft rings. If they steal them they will go directly to jail and will not pass go!”
How Computrace Solutions Work

The Computrace Agent that powers Absolute Software solutions is embedded in the firmware of computers from the world’s leading computer manufacturers right at the factory, including Lenovo, Acer, Asus, Dell, Gateway, Fujitsu, Getac, HP and Toshiba. Or it can easily be installed by the user. It can be activated by customers when they purchase a subscription with terms ranging from one to four years. The firmware-embedded agent regularly contacts the Absolute Monitoring Centre – sending location and IT asset management information.

When a computer equipped with Computrace is reported stolen, the Agent sends a silent signal over the internet to the Absolute Monitoring Centre, allowing the Absolute Theft Recovery Team to forensically mine the computer using a variety of forensic procedures and other investigative techniques to determine who has the computer and where it is located. Absolute then works with local law enforcement to help recover the computer. Embedded in the firmware of a computer, the stealthy Computrace Agent is capable of surviving operating system re-installations, as well as hard-drive reformats, replacements and re-imaging.

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