Pgh P-G, page A-6, 19 June issue, Laptop with ID's stolen

[alan]

A computer containing 13,000 Social Security Numbers and other personal data was stolen from the home of an employee of ING U.S. Financial Services, which administers DC’s employee retirement plan. Is this a repeat, albeit on a smaller scale on the recent VA fiasco? One can only guess, but why did this employee have such data at home in the first place. Also, was the data encoded or password protected in any way? If not, why not?

By the way, has the congress done anything to check the misuse of Social Security Numbers, misuse that might well open wide the gates through which IDENTITY THEFT enters? It doesn’t look as if the congress has taken the requisite steps, nor does it appear that private sector entities have gotten the message and tightened their overly loose, if not non-existent data security regimes.

The next question to ask might relate to what, if anything YOUR congress critter and or senators are doing with regard to this sort of thing, and the problems inherent in and with IDENTITY THEFT?

 

[Eghad]

Alas, I received a letter from a Student Loan Corp that an employee had a "device" stolen which may contain my confidential information as a past customer.

I think maybe the folks that handle this info should come under some HIPPA type law. Maybe then they might have a little more respect for folks confidential data.

 

[alan]

Eghad:

At the risk of sound really thick headed, I wonder as to why these "devices", as were mentioned in trhe letter you got, are not more securely held than they seem to be, which is to say why do these monkeys take valuable information out of their offices.

I wonder criminal stupidity was ever designated a capitol offense. Seems as if it should be.

 

[Eghad]

More good news

2500 Equifax employees data was lost on a stolen laptop

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/20/AR2006062000773.html

Ernst and Young has lost a laptop containing data such as the social security numbers of its customers

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/02/25/ernst_young_mcnealy/

JUNE 19, 2006 | American International Group (AIG), one of the top insurance providers in the country, this week is informing customers about a two-month-old burglary that included a file server containing some 970,000 personal records.

http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=97492

back in 2005

In late summer, TransUnion discovered that over 3,600 consumer records had been stolen from a regional sales office in California. The company indicated the data was stored on an independent desktop computer

this is getting pretty damn scary........

 

[tyme]

It's more pathetic than it is scary.

Encryption exists. Sadly, most companies would like to pretend that it doesn't. Most corporate executives would rather outsource their IT to India than accept an IT or consultant recommendation to use disk encryption on their laptops. (or unsecured desktops)

Corporate executives aren't savvy enough to understand to risk/reward for encryption. Only lawsuits will hammer it into their brains.

 

[alan]

tyme:

Law suits and the possibility, better yet, the REALITY of criminal penalties for gross negligence, since executive types are seldom prosecuted for plain old stupidity.

Eghad:

Talking of 2005, you haven't forgotten the ChoicePoint fiasco, nor the bit about Bank of America, have you. Of course, while the above mentioned are now history, about which our elected things did nothing, what of CURRENT EVENTS, about which our elected things will likely treat the same way, that is by DOING NOTHING.