I have always recognized that a number of thefts occur in the airport concourse.

(I have never had anything taken, but it always makes me nervous to lay my wallet, money clip, watch, computer, etc. out for someone to possibly swipe while I go through security. This is one of the few areas that TSA has improved. Before, I would make sure that the people in front of me had cleared the metal detector before placing my items on the belt and walking through it myself. I didn't want to get stopped behind the accomplice, while the thief made off with my stuff.)

On the other hand, I have always felt secure inside airplanes and in the lounges. This is partly because these are controlled environments and partly because you just can't -- mentally and physically -- be on guard all day long. You know the feeling, skating on to the plane as the door closes, "whoo, I made it."

And, I have to admit, that I figured that a computer or cell phone, etc. could be easily replaced. Items like this tend to be upgraded so often, that it seemed like it wouldn't matter too much if they got "upgraded" a few months early (and I could explain the loss by saying that the item got "enhanced" while traveling on CO).

Then, with being locked out of the PC, and leaving my cell phone in a car a few days later (thankfully I carry a spare and the service fedexed the left phone to me), I realized that the theft or loss of the these items could severely disrupt my business.

Even though I back up my PowerBook, I realized that being separated from the information on it for even a few hours could be a serious problem. Not to mention the potential data security issues that the loss of a computer or phone creates. (When you start to think about just the information that ends up on your phone -- call log, phone book, codes, saved mail, voice notes -- you realize how threatened confidential information is.)

Generally, I have tended to view locks and security measures as a nuisance and as a sign of personal failure. No one locks their houses or cars in the town that I grew up in, and I still don't lock my doors unless I am going to be gone for a while. As a person concerned with ethical behavior and right actions, I have always felt that faith in others is important to personal character. In politics, I learned a more practical version of this belief: suspicious people are usually suspcious themselves. So I have been really wrestling with this issue during the last couple of weeks.

On the other hand, I have an obligation to my clients and partners to maintain the security of our projects. It is hard not to see the lax security we have at our office and on the road as being uprofessional, and I can certainly see how our reputation would be damaged by the theft of confidential data. At the same time, I have turned down requisitions for a shredder("what do we have to hide") and once got in trouble for asking a politician "why would you do that?" (he took it as an implication that he was crooked while I was trying to break the ice by poking his self-importance) when he mentioned that he had his office "swept for bugs."

Where do people stand on this issue? Am I being paranoid, or am I being, as cops say, "stupid." Do I have too much faith in others, or too little? Has anyone on FT ever been robbed on a plane or in a lounge?

jh