The Forgotten Endpoint: Security Risks of Dormant Devices

The article highlights the widespread problem of corporate laptops issued to contractors or former employees that are not returned, creating significant security, compliance, and financial risks. It explains how poor asset inventory and endpoint visibility undermine zero-trust principles, increases insider and supply-chain exposure, and recommends practical mitigations (BYOD/VDI for contractors, automated scripts/MDM to flag dormant devices, remote wipe policies, and contractor onboarding/response playbooks).