Laptop theft is a significant threat to users of laptop and netbook computers. Many methods to protect the data and to prevent theft have been developed, including alarms, laptop locks, and visual deterrents such as stickers or labels. Victims of laptop theft can lose hardware, software, and essential data that has not been backed up. Thieves also may have access to sensitive data and personal information. Some systems authorize access based on credentials stored on the laptop including MAC addresses, web cookies, cryptographic keys and stored passwords.

According to the FBI, losses due to laptop theft totaled more than $3.5 million in 2005. The Computer Security Institute/FBI Computer Crime & Security Survey found the average theft of a laptop to cost a company $31,975. In a study surveying 329 private and public organizations published by Intel in 2010, 7.1% of employee laptops were lost or stolen before the end of their usefulness lifespan. Furthermore, it was determined that the average total negative economic impact of a stolen laptop was $49,256—primarily due to compromised data, and efforts to retroactively protect organizations and people from the potential consequences of that compromised data. The total cost of lost laptops to all organizations involved in the study was estimated at $2.1 billion. Of the $48B lost from the U.S. economy as a result of data breaches, 28% resulted from stolen laptops or other portable devices.

In the 2011, Bureau Brief prepared by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research it was reported that thefts of laptops have been on the increase over the last 10 years, attributed in part by an increase in ownership but also because they are an attractive proposition for thieves and opportunists. In 2001 2,907 laptops were stolen from New South Wales dwellings, but by 2010 this had risen to 6,492, second only to cash of items taken by thieves. The Bureau reports that one in four break-ins in 2010 resulted in a laptop being stolen. This startling trend in burglaries lends itself to an increase in identity theft and fraud due to the personal and financial information commonly found on laptops. These statistics do not take into account unreported losses so the figures could arguably be much higher.

Businesses have much to lose if an unencrypted or poorly secured laptop is misappropriated, yet many do not adequately assess this risk and take appropriate action. Loss of sensitive company information is of significant risk to all businesses and measures should be taken to adequately protect this data. A survey conducted in multiple countries suggested that employees are often careless or deliberately circumvent security procedures, which leads to the loss of the laptop. According to the survey, employees were most likely to lose a laptop while travelling at hotels, airports, rental cars, and conference events.

Behling and Wood examined the issue of laptop security and theft. Their survey of employees in southern New England highlighted that not only were security measures fundamentally basic but that training employees in security measures was limited and inadequate.

• 100% of the surveyed employees had access to company information via a laptop from remote sites that included their own homes.
• 78% were authorized to store company data on their laptop.
• 36% of businesses did not provide security training.

They concluded that trends in laptop thefts needed to be monitored to assess what intervention measures were required.