The Forgotten Laptop

Rohan was a bright final-year college student with a passion for technology. He could write code in his sleep, knew every security protocol in the book, and even gave small talks on cyber awareness in his college's tech club. One rainy afternoon, while rushing to the library to submit a project, he spotted something under the bench near the college gate.

It was a sleek black laptop, partially covered with a wet cloth. Curious, he picked it up and looked around. No one seemed to be searching for it. He waited a few minutes, thinking someone might return. But the bench stayed empty, and the rain kept falling.

Rohan hesitated. Should I take it to the lost and found? Or should I try to find out who it belongs to myself? The tech geek inside him whispered, Just turn it on and check. Maybe the desktop has a name or contact info.

He gave in.

The laptop wasn't password-protected—strange, he thought. It booted up quickly. A folder on the desktop titled "Private – Do Not Open" caught his eye.

His fingers hovered over the touchpad. Just one click... No harm.

And he clicked.

Inside were dozens of files—some financial documents, scanned IDs, private chats, and a list of account passwords. Rohan's eyes widened. This wasn’t a student’s laptop. It looked like it belonged to someone involved in serious business—maybe a government official or a corporate employee. The files were sensitive. Highly sensitive.

Suddenly, Rohan felt a chill. What if someone is tracking this activity?

His heart pounded. He knew what he had just done wasn’t ethical. He had accessed private data without permission. Even though he had no bad intentions, he had crossed a line.

That night, Rohan couldn’t sleep. He kept replaying the moment he opened that folder. The next morning, he decided to do the right thing. He formatted the laptop, erased any trace of his activity, and took it straight to the college office.

“I found this yesterday under the bench. Someone might be looking for it,” he told the receptionist, avoiding eye contact.

Two days later, a serious-looking man in a suit arrived at the college. He asked to meet the person who returned the laptop. Rohan was called in, heart thudding. The man introduced himself as Mr. Sen, an IT investigator from a government agency.

“That laptop belongs to one of our officers. It had sensitive data, and we were already tracking it when someone accessed it. You did that, didn’t you?”

Rohan nodded, unable to speak.

Mr. Sen looked at him sternly. “You’re lucky. You didn’t copy anything or try to misuse the information. But this is a lesson—never try to explore or retrieve data from a lost device. The right thing is to report it. Curiosity can be dangerous in the world of cybersecurity.”

Rohan apologized sincerely, promising never to repeat the mistake.

Later, as he walked out of the office, he realized the importance of digital ethics. He had always thought of himself as a tech genius, but this incident taught him that intelligence without responsibility is a risk. From that day on, Rohan not only spoke about cybersecurity but also emphasized digital morality in all his talks.