What is the potential risk associated with not securing data on company laptops?

Not securing data on company laptops can lead to the loss of sensitive information, which is a critical risk for organizations. Sensitive information may include confidential business data, personally identifiable information (PII), financial records, or trade secrets. If laptops are lost, stolen, or compromised, the data stored on those devices can be accessed by unauthorized individuals, resulting in potential data breaches. This can have severe consequences, including legal repercussions, reputational damage, and financial loss due to regulatory fines and remediation efforts.

While other options might seem relevant to the impact of inadequate data security, they do not directly address the principal concern of data exposure and the ramifications arising from it. For instance, increased productivity might be perceived as a benefit of less stringent security measures, but this does not offset the critical risks involved. Similarly, concerns about operational costs or hardware wear are secondary to the primary issue of data protection and the implications that arise if sensitive data is compromised.