Study: Average Value of Business Info on Travelers’ Laptops Equals $525K

Most travelers carry little or no business information on their laptops, but the ones who do store an average of $525,000 worth of sensitive data, according to a survey contracted by iBahn, a provider of secure broadband services to some 2,100 hotels and conference centers in 22 countries.

Additional noteworthy findings include:

• The average value of personal information on travelers’ laptop computers is $330,000

• Forty percent of respondents access the Web via an open, or unsecured Wi-Fi connection in any given month, be it public or another person’s personal network

• Thirty-nine percent of respondents have experienced some form of computer malware, virus, theft, etc. in a business setting

• Only thirty-two percent of study participants said the Wi-Fi connections they employ to access the Internet in hotels or conference centers are “somewhat” or “highly secure.”

The iBahn study was conducted by FGI Research from April 5 to April 16, 2007. Four hundred and ninety-one participants contributed to the report, all of whom use a laptop or PDA and stay at least one night in a hotel monthly. About 18 percent of respondents were managers. FGI Research used its SmartPanel to assemble the “most representative sample possible.”

More information on iBahn and FGI Research’s SmartPanel can be found on the companies’ websites.