Generally my machines are full-disk-crypto, locked firmware, etc., so if one fell into random-criminal hands, it wouldn't be that horrible from an information-s

Generally my machines are full-disk-crypto, locked firmware, etc., so if one fell into random-criminal hands, it wouldn't be that horrible from an information-security perspective. Replacing a $3-4k laptop, $1-2k in random accessories in the bag, etc especially while on a trip would actually be quite painful, though. Single-round stolen laptop is probably survivable, just expensive and inconvenient. In international travel, the other thing I'm afraid of is surreptitious physical tampering of the machine itself by someone like the MSS, with it being returned to me for future use. i.e. someone adding a hw keylogger, or other modifications. I'm not particularly concerned about MSS doing this to me in the US, but if I were on a business trip in China, it would be top-of-mind, and I'd never let non-tamper-evident hardware out of my direct control. I don't leave laptops in hotel rooms in China; despite having some cool technology to detect tampering, it's not foolproof, and I'd prefer defense-in-depth. I also tend to use throwaway equipment (not my new rMBP) when going to a place like China, and will decommission it afterward (pull the drive, put a new drive in, eBay it). It's more of a pain now that I'm doing hardware stuff with prototypes. I'm working on secure bootloading as a feature, but even with that, I want to keep the physical design safe before production. Luckily they're pocket-sized.