Yowza. I have seen some scary reports about the number of cell phones left in cabs before, but 31,544 in a six-month period? That's incredible. Now, just think about how many of them are smartphones and how much enterprise data is at risk.This latest report about forgetful cab passengers was carried out by Credant Technologies. If you are even remotely interested in the security of your enterprise, you should be worried. Not only were 31,544 cell phones left behind, but so were 2,752 other electronic devices such as laptops and iPods -- each of which is capable of carrying untold amounts of enterprise data. The yearly figure of lost cell phones in NYC alone is more than 63,000.

"We've become too complacent about losing personal information. This is a warning to the business community and individuals to be vigilant when traveling with mobile devices, especially as more people are using the latest range of 'must have' mobile smartphones to store large amounts of sensitive personal and business information," stated Michael Callahan, chief marketing officer at Credant Technologies. "Many of these devices now have the capacity to store as much as 10,000 Word documents, 11,000 pictures, 500,000 contact details, or an amazing 1.1 million e-mails, making them an obvious target for identity theft criminals and hackers who can steal this information and assume the identity of the user both in their personal or business life."

Credant makes security solutions for cell phones and laptops. In light of how much data can be stored on these devices, encryption, password locks, and having the ability to remotely wipe data is becoming more essential.

The good news is that nearly two-thirds of all the lost devices eventually make their way back to the owners. But that means fully 21,000 didn't. Was yours one of them?