The blogosphere is abuzz with news of a U.C. Berkeley biology prof's dire warning to the person who stole his laptop. Professor Jasper Rine claims that due to sensitive data on the machine, several scary law enforcement agencies are actively tracking the thief, whose future looks grim -- unless, of course, the laptop is returned immediately. The threat hinges on the claim that the laptop can be tracked using its wireless card and the machine's "transponder."
It's probably a bluff. Products do exist that can track errant PCs, and Wi-Fi nets can be configured to geo-locate machines. But if Rine was smart enough to enable these crime-busting technologies in the first place, one might also assume he was savvy enough to encrypt the data on his laptop, or better yet, not leave it out where somebody could easily boost it. I'd say he's in hotter water than the thief is.
Also, for irony's sake, note that a U.C. Berkeley admission office recently had a laptop stolen that had personal data on more than 98,000 people on it. And that the campus is leading a $19 million research project on protecting the nation's cybersecurity.
From the "Business Buzz" on CNET.com - work.cnet.com.
