November 20, 2020
2 Min Read
The Absolute Investigations Team has years of experience tracking down missing and stolen laptops – so our customers can rest assured they know where their devices ended up and, even more importantly, their data is protected. In October, our team leaned on their expertise working with law enforcement and Absolute’s firmware-embedded technology to recover devices that were stolen by students and employees, during other crimes and more.
One school district in South Carolina distributes Chromebooks to all of their students as part of a one-to-one program. When a student decided to run away from home and take the Chromebook with her, the school and law enforcement reached out to Absolute for assistance in finding both the student and the device. Worried for the student’s safety, our team quickly looked at the device connection log using Absolute’s undeletable tether to every device and determined her recent log in locations. This data allowed law enforcement to locate the student who was in a park near a supermarket where she had last used WIFI. Most importantly, the school and the girl’s family were glad to have her back. Secondarily, the school was happy to have their device (and data) returned.
A laptop was determined missing from a hospital in London so the IT team turned to Absolute for assistance locating what was suspected to be a stolen device. Absolute investigators determined the device was in fact still being used and connecting to a network outside of the hospital. They could also tell the machine had been rebuilt. The hospital IT team looked into which employee had been assigned the device originally and, after determining who the individual was, made demands for its safe return. The device and data is now safely back in the hands of the hospital.
Students from a school district in Arizona had their laptop stolen as thieves broke into the family home. The school and law enforcement contacted Absolute for assistance in tracking the device, and hopefully the burglars. When the device first connected to a network post-theft, our investigators were ready and immediately notified authorities of the connection location. Law enforcement located the device, which had been dumped, so the thieves remain at large yet the school saw the safe return of their device ad their data.
Over the summer, a school in Georgia fell victim to theft and 14 devices went missing from one of the campus buildings. Using Absolute technology, our investigators located one and informed law enforcement of its location. The device changed hands before authorities were able to retrieve it however so Absolute again located the new user – a minor in Virginia. Working with school officials, Absolute implemented a device freeze and sent a message to the user that the device was stolen. Soon after, the student in Virginia turned the device in to law enforcement.
A student in Texas reported the theft of his laptop from his backpack while it was stashed in the school locker room during a basketball game. While he heard rumors of another student stealing the device, there was no proof until Absolute determined the location of the laptop as it was connecting to the internet. It was in fact coming from the home of the student bragging about the theft so law enforcement notified the student’s parents. The device was promptly returned to the school.
For more than 15 years, Absolute Investigations has helped organizations recover their missing devices. Made up of former law enforcement professionals and other experts, Absolute Investigations uses forensics tools and techniques to locate missing devices. Once found, Absolute Investigations connects with local law enforcement to orchestrate their safe return. Learn more here.
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