UK School’s stolen laptops tracked and recovered from India

• Cybersecurity & Privacy - Endpoint Security

• Education

• Business Operation
• Facility Management

• Remote Asset Management
• Theft Detection

• System Integration

Having already suffered a theft from the school, Jon Bullard, Laleham Gap’s network manager wanted a solution that could protect both devices and the students. “I was really keen to find a solution that would prevent laptop theft. It was important that if we did have any thefts we could recover the laptop to minimise any inconvenience. Additionally, if the person or people involved in the theft could be brought to justice, so much the better,” said Mr. Bullard.

Laleham Gap School in Kent is a centre of expertise for pupils aged three to 16 with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and speech and language disorders. The school is situated across two sites, and also offers boarding facilities. Laleham Gap considers laptops as essential tools that are used on a daily basis to deliver interactive lessons. Devices are used by the school’s teaching staff to plan lessons and also as a tool to deliver lessons to pupils via whiteboards. Other laptops are used by the school’s administrative staff and contain information relating to the school. It was essential that some form of security be put in place as a theft prevention measure, and should a security incident occur, the laptops could be recovered.

Mr. Bullard started to research what endpoint security solutions were available and he came across Absolute. As Persistence® technology is embedded in the core of the devices, this provided the school with the level of protection it required. It is this technology that Mr. Bullard was keen to put into use to bring any culprits to justice. After an initial theft, a second theft occurred in the mobile classrooms that had recently been installed. Soon after the robbery, the Absolute Investigations team then traced a laptop to an address 30 miles away from the school. The police were informed and arrests were made. Another laptop was pinpointed to Tohana in India. The Absolute Investigations team worked with law enforcement to recover it and return it to the UK. “When the laptop was traced to India we were amazed that the Absolute Investigations team was able to locate and retrieve a laptop from over 4,000 miles away,” said Mr. Bullard. “We have been amazed by the capabilities of Absolute and I now plan to advertise the fact that our laptops have this level of security embedded in them in a bid to prevent any further robberies at the school,” he concludes.

• Personal details of staff and pupils are protected, even after a theft.
• Laptops are recovered instead of having to be replaced on tight budgets.
• Security incidents can be investigated and devices recovered, even as far away as India.

• Laptops recovered from over 4,000 miles away.
• Multiple arrests made following the thefts.