Poundland ups laptop security

Value retailer Poundland has implemented a security service for its laptop users.

According to Mo Rahman, IT Services manager at Poundland, the initiative was driven by the board to cut down on any potential data vulnerabilities should any of the 80 laptops used by area managers and headquarters staff be lost or stolen.

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He told silicon.com the retailer has opted for a hosted storage service from Iron Mountain Digital, which automatically backs up the laptops when they are online or docked into the fixed-line network that supports 200 Poundland stores, the HQ and two distribution centres based in the West Midlands.

Rahman added he intends to extend the service to six buyers based in the retailer's Hong Kong operation.

If a laptop is lost, left in a taxi, for example, or stolen, all the data it contains is automatically wiped if a passcode is entered incorrectly a specified number of times, making sure sensitive business data doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

Rahman said: "We can't easily quantify the business benefit of this service. It's more about the board being reassured that our data is safe. It's better to be safe than to have to say sorry if data has been exposed."

The migration to the service began in October 2008 and was completed in December, once all of the laptops were handed in for set-up by field staff.