Laptop Lojack?

daninja asks: "Yet another laptop with classified information seems to be missing. It looks to me like there must be a good sized market for highly secure laptops with a built in Lojack tracking device (or simply a laptop with an integral handcuff, kind of like that briefcase full o' blues secured to the wrist of Elwood Blues). Such a device (the Lojack version, not the handcuff one) could be designed so that the tracking transmitter couldn't be separated or disabled without rendering the disk unreadable (by a small explosive charge, mildly corrosive gas, or whatever). It seems so obvious, why isn't there such a product? (Hey, maybe I could patent this idea!)"

I have to admit, I too have had ideas along these lines. This shouldn't be too hard to build, however the laptop would have to be always-on (which would be hell on the batteries) and a GPS unit would need to be added in some way shape or form. This isn't all that unlikely, there are handheld GPS units on the market. How difficult would it be to meld one into a laptop?

Update: 04/28 02:15 by C : The link to the picture of the Blues Brothers has vanished. It was there when I posted this article days ago, but it's gone now. Sorry about that.

Comments

Why always on?

[Red Leader.]

Why would the laptop have to be on, and not just the 'LoJack' unit - whatever that may be?

Here's a neat idea (yes, I'm bored - and no, I did not sleep last night). Make a GPS receiver/position broadcaster only activate when a 'daughter' unit was not within a predifined range. That way, the LoJack system would be merely sipping at its own battery on standby, but would start transmitting its location as soon as the daughter hardware was out of range. How does that sound? Sure it requires its own battery, but it's entirely internal (Don't ask how you change the battery. I don't know. Lift up the keyboard? okay - LOCKED under the keyboard?)

[first meaningful post?]

Re:Maybe genuinely secure laptops make more sense.

[seldolivaw]

As far as reports so far have told said, the data on the laptops is encrypted -- but it's also unique. The issue is not that other people won't be able to read the data -- I don't think they can -- but that the security agency itself will have lost the data!

Of course, if you had a system which blew up the data if it got out of tracking range, you'd still lose the data.... so maybe this is all a dumb idea on my part :-)

Re:What about my privacy?

[TheCarp]

FYI - At least in MY home state (MA) things are
just a "tiny bit" different. See...the police in
MA REFUSED to use lojack, unless certain changes
were made to the system.

What did they want? The police wanted the ability
to activate any lojack at any time, for any
reason. Guess what? they got it. If you have
lojack in MA, the police could turn it on at any
time, without you knowing a thing about it.

(I am assuming by this that there are protections
in place in other states, like its not the policebut the lojack people who transmit the code
and need some password or mothers maiden name
or some such to do it)

This laptop will self-destruct.....

[shadowstrider]

The Navy Seals already have (waterproof, magnesium) laptops that have an integral incendiary device to slag all the innards. I think it can be triggered at will, but I'm not sure about it other than that. Like for instance in this case it would maybe be of use to go off after a number of bad passwords.

As an added bonus, it would probably start someone's car or suitcase or something on fire when it triggered, which would certainly draw some attention. On that idea, booby trap them to mark anyone who tampers with them somehow maybe? Kind of like the red dye used in banks, but less obvious.