Risk for exhibitors - theft of PCs and tablets at trade fairs

Trade fairs are supposed to be crowd pullers. And indeed, they always attract many interested parties, but sometimes also people whose interest relates to the demonstration equipment or trade fair technology. How can theft be prevented and what should be done if data has disappeared along with the hardware?

Better safe than sorry

There is indeed a lot of shouting when a laptop, tablet or other item goes missing from the stand. Of course, the exhibitor must offer a certain level of security, but as with the checkrooms in your favorite pub, no liability is accepted for the loss of unobserved valuables.

Safety at the stand

From the organizer’s side, there will be security personnel who can at least present proof of having the necessary professional qualifications according to §34a of the Commercial Code. As a rule, the security personnel will visit the fair several times according to a fixed schedule.

Organizers offer individual exhibition stand equipment. Cutting corners here can prove to be a fatal mistake. The safety precautions offered, which can be booked for the stand, include lockable cabinets in which end devices can be stored. The handling of demonstrations can now be easily automated or, if necessary, controlled by remote control. Alarm systems, such as those familiar from consumer electronics stores, can also be installed on the stand. Both deter potential thieves in any case and a person who carries away an entire cabinet is naturally more noticeable.

The design of the exhibition space can be conceived in such a way that various elements act as barriers that cannot be overcome inconspicuously. If a visitor tampers with display stands, this is noticeable.

With the influx of business partners or interested parties, the employees at the trade fair stand are naturally also distracted. Thieves like to take advantage of this. It should be clearly regulated among the stand supervisors who takes on which tasks and, above all, how it can be ensured that the equipment is not left unattended.

Protection against access to data

Each device can be configured so that there are user accounts with different access rights. At trade fairs, logins should never be made using the administrator account. The more account restrictions are possible, the more secure the data is.

Furthermore, all data should of course be secured in advance and, in any case, only devices should be used during public demonstrations where only the most necessary data is stored. This basically only includes an operating system, drivers for input and output devices, and the programs necessary for playing back presentations. The presentation itself should be accessible on the hard drive, an external storage device (USB stick), or freely available on the internet. Logging in to clouds represents a gateway to data theft in the event of theft. The same applies to using Wi-Fi when the organizer’s open Wi-Fi is used.

Consequences of the theft

Multimedia is now just as important for companies as it is for the entertainment industry. Therefore, the consequences of theft at an important trade fair are naturally enormous. A presentation in image, sound and video is much more memorable and broadcasting via a projector conveys important information to many interested parties at the same time. Reachability is significantly reduced if stand representatives can only explain the benefits of their offer to individuals. Depending on the product, this can cause considerable economic damage, as sales and the number of contacts that are made after the trade fair can be reduced.

The image of the exhibiting company could also suffer. It comes across as old-fashioned and not very innovative if it has to limit itself to handing out flyers and print advertising.

Tip: Contracts for end devices can include the simple option of having replacement devices delivered to any designated destination specified in the contract. Trade show and exhibition insurance policies are also worth considering for exhibiting companies, especially if they participate in very large exhibitions and also exhibit globally. These latter policies also apply if a device breaks down or an interested party spills their coffee on it, depending on the contract terms.

What to do in the event of theft?

As soon as the theft is noticed, the organizer's security personnel should be called. It is good if stand supervisors know the details of the device (manufacturer, device number, age of the device, etc.) and can provide them directly. The information about the theft is spread among the security staff so that they can check conspicuous persons.

As of Windows 10, not only tablets and cell phones, but also laptops can be tracked. The corresponding function must be activated for this. Ideally, this is activated by default and can only be configured by the administrator. This allows you to track where the device is currently located via a corresponding location page.

If there is insurance against theft, this should of course also be informed immediately. If the policy provides for a replacement device, the insurance company will arrange for this to be provided.

Companies usually have their own set of rules for such incidents, which employees must adhere to.

On-site police operations can be requested, but it is doubtful whether they are of much use given the volume of people. A trade fair is a place with a lot of people, which means that the trail situation is inherently confusing. In addition, although having police on the stand is a way of attracting attention, very few people see the presence of law enforcement officers as a positive signal, so this would be more likely to generate negative publicity.

Conclusion: A trade fair involves a high financial commitment for exhibitors. Participation in trade fairs is expensive, staff have to be deployed and if technology is stolen, this is of course very annoying. The smaller the devices are that arouse thieves' desires, the more they should be secured. Tablets and smartphones can be stored in bags that allow them to be operated but, for example, secure the device to clothing or furniture with a chain. In fact, trade fairs have been favorite events for theft ever since trade exhibitions have existed. The thieves are often not interested in the end devices, which are now available at affordable prices. The data is coveted, especially when it comes to innovative inventions. It is therefore all the more important to protect the data even better than the hardware and, if possible, not to store any sensitive data on display devices. Passwords can be assigned for almost all actions on an end device. This should definitely be used. This could prevent a device from being shut down and completely prevent the restart of a device that has not been properly switched off. This would at least increase data security.