Topic: Computer/Laptop Serial Number

[jackh]

Popping this in here too - will delete one or the other if/as & when a response comes through, so as not to spam!

What can be done with a computer's serial number?

Our office manager (on behalf of the employer overall) is asking that we all provide the serial number of the equipment we're using whilst working from home.  At first, I presumed this was a hardware audit and so advised that I have no work-owned equipment (they had none left at the time I asked and so I'm just using my own), but she's insisted she needs everyone's regardless...

[Graeme]

I'd have thought its more for insurance purposes than anything else

[Claire.]

I wouldn't give it if it's my own machine especially if they won't tell me what the reasoning is.

Can't remember the exact requirements but they might be panicking around GDPR if you're handling any data on a machine that's not encrypted/secured.

[ToneLa]

Wait, it's YOUR own device?? Alarm bells

I've built an asset registry in a past job - I took serial numbers down of our laptops, but that was the company's property and all this did was sit in their register. Tip: finance didn't care about people using their own devices, our insurance and our accounts had nowt to do with that; it was a lookout for IT / data governance

I'm sure it might have elements of data management. It begs a lot of questions - their data governance is already iffy IMO if their WFH solution allows data on home machines. And serial number is such a weird request - professionally as an IT dude I've needed usernames, IP addresses and even MAC addresses but never the serial number.

I'm thinking: if it's asset management / financial, it shouldn't include what the company doesn't pay for. If it's IT, it's a bit of a weird thing to collect, and like with my gut assumption of "Data panic too little too late", bereft of a convincing explanation I'd not provide it

I reckon it's a hardware audit that has been mangled by overthink from HR / middle management 

[SP]

How about the IT internal systems using serial number as a unique key and they require something unique in that field and no one having the nous to just generate them...

[RobbieRedman]

I reckon it's a hardware audit that has been mangled by overthink from HR / middle management 

yep something down this road