Travelers Abandon 8,000-Plus Electronic Devices

Thousands of electronic devices are getting orphaned at airports every year. Credant Technologies, a company specializing in data protection, surveyed seven major airports in the United States and found that they recovered 3,444 smart phones and tablets computers, 3,576 laptops and 996 USB drives. Airports surveyed were O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Denver International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, Miami International Airport, Orlando International Airport and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Common places for travelers to lose their devices were at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints and in bathrooms. Only one of the airports turned unclaimed devices over to police, with the others donating the devices to charity or transferring them to another location. The company cited previous research that found 62% of smart-phone users do not use a password to protect their device, which means many travelers—and their employers—are leaving themselves open to data breaches. credant.com