Teqtivity, a leading IT asset management (ITAM) provider, today released an analysis examining the relationship between untracked hardware and enterprise data breaches. The findings point to a persistent blind spot in corporate security strategy: organizations are investing heavily in software-based defenses while failing to account for the physical devices that connect to their networks — many of which are no longer visible to IT teams at all.

"You can't secure what you can't see," says Hiren Hasmukh, CEO and Founder of Teqtivity. "Companies are layering security tool on top of security tool, and nobody's asking the obvious question: do we even know what's connected? A former employee's laptop sitting in someone's apartment with company API keys on it isn't a sophisticated threat. It's a spreadsheet problem we never solved."

The Problem: Ghost Assets Are Active Attack Surfaces

A "ghost asset" is any device that exists in the real world but has fallen off an organization's radar — a forgotten laptop, unreturned hardware from a former employee, a device deployed for a project nobody remembered to retrieve. These devices don't show up in security audits. They don't get patched. And they don't get locked when someone leaves the company.

According to industry data, 71% of HR professionals report that at least one departing employee failed to return company equipment such as laptops or mobile phones. Remote and hybrid workers are more likely to hold onto devices than on-site employees — and each unreturned device carries an average of $1,963 in hardware value, often with sensitive company data still on it.

The security exposure is compounding. Data shows that infostealers compromised credentials on more BYOD devices than on corporate-managed devices. That gap exists precisely because unmanaged devices fall outside standard security controls.

The Cost of Looking the Other Way

Industry research shows the average data breach now costs organizations millions of dollars and takes nearly eight months to fully detect and contain. Those timelines and price tags don't reflect attackers outpacing defenders. They reflect defenders not knowing what they're supposed to be defending.

"Organizations are spending billions on threat intelligence and still getting blindsided," adds Hasmukh. "When you don't know what hardware is connected to your environment, every device you've lost track of is a door you've left unlocked. The breach doesn't start with a sophisticated attack. It starts with a spreadsheet that was never updated."

Hardware Visibility Is the Missing Foundation

Teqtivity's analysis points to hardware-level asset visibility as the foundational layer beneath every security investment. The company's platform provides automated device discovery, real-time hardware inventory tracking, and retrieval workflows that ensure departed employees return equipment before offboarding is complete.

Organizations that implemented structured ITAM programs report stronger audit readiness, faster incident response, and measurable reductions in device-related security gaps — outcomes that compound over time as hardware environments grow more distributed.

For organizations operating across hybrid and remote workforces, the challenge is only growing. Teqtivity currently manages hardware assets globally, giving enterprise clients full visibility into every device across their global workforce.

For more information about Teqtivity's approach to critical asset management and security visibility, visit www.teqtivity.com.