What to Do if Your VU Issued Device is Lost or Stolen

The purpose of this article is to provide clear steps and instructions on how to report and handle a lost or stolen device, including responsibilities for replacement costs and necessary actions to ensure data security.

• Vanderbilt University Community

  • Faculty and Staff

  • Graduate and Professional Students

• VUIT Internal Knowledge 

• A VU issued device has been lost or stolen

• Understand that VUIT will issue a wipe/disable instruction to the device

When a device is lost or stolen, it's essential to take immediate action to report the loss and initiate recovery or replacement procedures. Departments are responsible for the replacement costs if the device is not recovered, but VUIT can provide a loaner device while a replacement is on order. The following steps outline the process for reporting the incident and safeguarding the device's data.   

Lost/Stolen Devices

If your device is lost or stolen, it is important to report it as soon as possible to initiate necessary security and replacement actions.

1. Lifecycle Computer Consultation Request: Submit a Lifecycle Computer Consultation Request to officially report the device as lost or stolen.

2. Helpful Information to Include: While the following details are helpful for processing your report, they are not required:

   • VU Police Department, Metro Nashville Police, or other local area police department case report number.

   • Last known location

   • Device/Computer Name

   • Serial number

   • VUnetID and name of assigned user for the lost/stolen device

   • Confirmation that the device can be remotely wiped/disabled. 

If you are missing any of the details listed above, you can still submit the request. Providing as much information as possible will help expedite the process, but do not delay reporting if you lack some details. 

Found/Recovered Devices

If you find or recover a device, submit a Lifecycle Computer Consultation Request to report the device as found/recovered.  Depending on the situation, it may be necessary to arrange for the device to be delivered to VUIT to evaluate if a repair is needed.  If the device is in good condition and still under warranty or within lifecycle, it may just need a reimage and put back into production.  However, VUIT security may want to evaluate the device in the event it was stolen, to be sure nothing was installed on the computer that may cause problems (virus, spyware, etc).  VUIT Lifecycle will then work with Desktop Engineering to have the computer unblocked and reset for use.  If computer is inoperable or heavily damaged and not in warranty, VUIT Lifecycle will discuss with the department to replace and surplus the computer.

• Make sure to file a police report with the VU Police Department or Metro Nashville Police if the device is stolen.

• It’s recommended to regularly back up important data to ensure minimal data loss in case of theft or loss.

  • See: Crashplan or Understanding and Using Cloud-Based Data Protection Solutions

How to Request a VU Workstation Wipe, Reset, or Re-Image