Laptop Holding Personal Data Stolen from State Employee’s Home

A laptop containing personal information of injured workers of Ohio State went missing from the procession of a state worker. The theft occurred on May 30, 2007. Ohio governor declared that a larger hacking had taken place into computerized data that was with another employee, according to state officials on June 25, 2007.

The personal information included Social Security numbers and other confidential records belonging to 439 injured workers. The laptop was at the house of the auditor for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation from where it was taken away.

Protection on the laptop was confirmed by a password. Data on the machine consisted of the injured workers' names, claim numbers, date of injury, the amount the State paid them and perhaps the medical records relating to the injury while the individual was at the workplace.

In another incident, the crooks stole the computer backup tape from an intern's motor vehicle. The tape had state employees' personal information including names and Social Security numbers of 225,000 taxpayers.

Governor Strickland said accessing the data on the tape could be difficult, as it would need specific hardware, software, and, above all, expertise. However, according to data security experts, a thief could reach the information because the data had not been encrypted, as per the news reported by Ohio.com on June 25, 2007.

The two cases were among 11 reports in 2007 of lost or missing computer devices. These equipments were either under the ownership of the state or belonged to private individuals on state property, said Lt. Tony Bradshaw, a spokesman for an Ohio State Highway Patrol. Ohio.com published Bradshaw's statement on June 25, 2007.

Administrator of workers' computers Marsha Ryan did not get separate information about the laptop theft. She came to know of it on the day the governor declared the other incident. Internal investigators were already examining the theft and reported it to the police. When Ryan received the news, she ordered her staff to review the laptop data, as per the news reported by The Enquirer on June 25, 2007.

The State department offered free ID protection services to the affected individuals, informing them through mailed letters.

Related article: Laptop Delivery E-mail Drops Trojan, Warns Trend Micro

» SPAMfighter News - 7/5/2007