Computer with D.C. workers' data stolen

[cynatnite]

WASHINGTON - A laptop containing the Social Security numbers and other personal data of 13,000 District of Columbia employees and retirees has been stolen, officials said.

The computer was stolen Monday from the Washington home of an employee of ING U.S. Financial Services, said officials with the company, which administers the district's retirement plan.

The company did not notify city employees of the theft until late Friday because it took officials several days to determine what information was stored on the laptop, ING spokeswoman Caroline Campbell said.

The laptop was not password-protected and the data was not encrypted, Campbell said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060618/ap_on_hi_te/data_theft_d_c

[Jeanette in FL]

1. Alright now, this is not a coincidence any longer

You cannot believe that all of a sudden, so many different organizations are suddenly losing all of our data.

I don't know what the motive is, but something is up.

[malaise]

4. Bingo

It's called 'How to Steal an Election' - Version 3.

[devinsgram]

11. I see a pattern

but I don't think it has anything to do with stealing an election. Just a thought.

[malaise]

14. I hope you're right n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. Ye are onto something

days after the VA went missing, I got a call from our local Repuke running for the central committee... asking fer my vote...

Well two thigns, I am an Independent, so I cannot vote for EITHER central committee,

Second, his opening line... I am so and so, running for so and so and I suport vets... it was well before my morning coffee... woke me up like that... I tore into him... but... how the hell did he know we were a veteran family and HOW THE HELL DID HE GET MY UNLISTED number?

There you go. The VA list, and I am sticking to the story. Oh and a month later I get my ID stolen... coincidence? Oh and we are still waiting for the letter from either IRS or VA to show up.

[GreenPartyVoter]

20. Very very strange. You would think with TIA 'they' would know all this

already. Maybe it's a different 'them'?

[AnOhioan]

2. With all the personal data being "acquired".........

from stolen laptops, servers, etc. one might be led to put on a tinfoil hat and wonder if the NSA is doing some gathering. Or maybe it is just a case of people being incredibly stupid and negligent.

Either way....the situation sucks for those whose data has been compromised.

[madokie]

3. something sinister going on here don't you think

[HysteryDiagnosis]

5. Why can't the NSA just tap our phones and leave it at that? n/t

[KoKo]

6. Seems to me that Laptops should be forbidden. Too much temptation

for people to take them home with private info. A long time ago records used to be kept under lock and key. There were supervisors who checked that kind of thing. I guess "anything goes" these days. Not enough supervisors around. Job cuts. No one to train employees in ethics.

[newblewtoo]

9. The laptop was not password-protected

"The laptop was not password-protected and the data was not encrypted, Campbell said."

"Two other ING laptops containing information on 8,500 Florida hospital workers were stolen in December, but the employees were not notified until this week, said ING spokesman Chuck Eudy. Neither laptop was encrypted, he said."

I will not let this company handle my money after having read this. They do not have data safeguards in place. Pretty loose outfit but probably operating with in the current guidlines.

[MissWaverly]

7. X marks the spot

How do these thieves know that this information is available at Mr. X's house, I think they
must pick this up by eavesdropping on computer lines, how else would you know.

[madmom]

8. people..people...people this is exactly why we've got to let them

control the internets, so bad people can't use this info for shameless and despicable things.:sarcasm:

[Roland99]

10. There are *DOZENS* of articles on stolen personal data (85,000,000 names!)

I started tracking down the recent reports and came across these in just a few minutes:

Dec 23, 2004
Notebook Theft May Expose Personal Data
http://pcworld.about.com/news/Dec232004id119039.htm

March 29, 2005
Laptop theft puts data of 98,000 at risk
http://news.com.com/Laptop+theft+puts+data+of+98,000+at+risk/2100-1029_3-5645362.html

April 27, 2006
Aetna says laptop with member data stolen
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6066078.html

May 22, 2006
Thieves steal personal data of 26.5M vets
http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/breaking_news/14641025.htm

June 2, 2006
Laptop theft exposes Hotels.com data
http://news.com.com/Laptop+theft+exposes+Hotels.com+data/2100-7348_3-6079424.html

June 5, 2006
Lost IRS laptop stored employee fingerprints
Hundreds notified they are at risk of ID theft, including some applicants
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13152636/

June 08, 2006
YMCA Reports Theft of Personal Data on 65,000 People
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,198565,00.html


Then I came across THIS


A Chronology of Data Breaches Reported Since the ChoicePoint Incident
http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/ChronDataBreaches.htm

The data breaches noted below have been reported because the personal information compromised includes data elements useful to identity thieves, such as Social Security numbers, account numbers, and driver's license numbers. A few breaches that do NOT expose such sensitive information have been included in order to underscore the variety and frequency of data breaches. However, we have not included the number of individuals affected in such breaches in the total because we want this compilation to reflect breaches that expose individuals to identity theft as well as breaches that qualify for disclosure under state laws.

For tips on what to do if your personal information has been exposed due to a security breach, read our guide.

The catalyst for reporting data breaches to the affected individuals has been the California law that requires notice of security breaches, the first of its kind in the nation, implemented July 2003.
www.privacyrights.org/ar/SecurityBreach.htm
www.privacy.ca.gov/recommendations/secbreach.pdf

This chronology below begins with ChoicePoint's 2/15/05 announcement of its data breaches because it was a watershed event in terms of disclosure to the affected individuals. Since then, the "best practice" has been to disclose breaches to individuals nationwide -- in a sense, adopting California's notice requirement nationally.

Total number of people affected: 85,149,786

[AnOhioan]

12. 85,149,786 that bears repeating

85,149,786 Over 1/3 of the entire population of the country. Something definitely is wrong with this picture.

[marmar]

13. I don't understand why all this data needs to be carried on laptops...

Can you imagine, somebody with a laptop casually sitting at Starbucks sipping a latte while his or her laptop containing life data on thousands of people is just sitting there?

[newblewtoo]

15. Sure can

It happens every day (bet I can go down to the local SB today and find some one). Of course lots of them are 'working remote' using unsecured wireless networks. Some are just living the life, being cool. There are lots of identity thief's out there. Lets all go wireless, shall we?? Screw encryption, it is too complicated. Passwords, who needs 'em. When you use free wireless you get what you pay for. Some unscrupulous people actually set up open access points just to lure people in to harvest data.

My favorite laptop story was about the guy who's son was using the 'confidential' State Department laptop to go to an AOL chat room.

[ArmchairMeme]

17. K & R - raises lots of questions

AND when do we hear that Rumsfield is screaming for justice? When will Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rove etc. be in line with the population for identity fraud. How do they become exempt?

When is the laptop of a few leading corporations compromised and the new design for the new product is lost? Or all their financial data and marketing deals are lost. Those must be very lucrative pieces of information.

Why is there no recourse for the non-wealthy to protect themselves from this growing problem?

[Rex]

18. Another BFEE 'plumbers job'.

America suffers from political insecurity.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

19. Long Island RailRoad and VA and now this?

"there is no such thing as coincidences in intel ops" George Bush