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Data Breach Updates: April 25, 2008
Pfizer Inc. has announced that a laptop computer that was stolen by a burglar from the home of a contractor on February 7th could open up approximately 800 current employees and contractors to the threat of identity theft. The Day of Connecticut reported that a lawyer for Pfizer indicated in a letter dated March 19th to the attorney general's officers of several states that there have not yet been any reports of identity theft in connection with the data breach, but the company is continuing to investigate and monitor the situation. Pfizer has said that the stolen laptop was password protected.
A briefcase containing the personal information of about 30 clients was stolen from the car of an employee of Norfolk's Community Services Board in Virginia on March 24. The car was parked in a Virginia Beach parking lot when someone smashed a window and took the briefcase, according to a report by WVEC 13 News. The case worker violated the agency's policy by removing the sensitive information from the office. The information included in the briefcase included patient information that likely included Social Security numbers. It is not clear whether or not medical information was also included. The agency is taking the time to retrain all of their 42 case workers on state and federal privacy laws in the wake of the data breach.
The sensitive personal data of up to 71,000 families in Georgia who are members of a health insurance program for the poor and working poor was exposed when the information was accidentally posted on the Internet for several days, according to a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Tampa-based WellCare Health Plans Inc. says that some of the personal information, including 10,500 Social Security numbers, may have been viewed by unauthorized individuals. The data breach affected members of Wellcare of Georgia. The state of Georgia was notified of the data breach but the data was not removed from the Internet until April 2nd. It is not known exactly how long the data was available online. Letters are being sent to the families who may be at risk for identity theft as a result of the breach and Wellcare of Georgia will provide one year of free credit monitoring services to those who were affected by the data breach. Such credit monitoring can perhaps also reduce the risk of bankruptcy.
Police in Joliet, Illinois say that a student of Joliet West High School hacked into the school's computer system using a school computer and was able to access personal information about every student enrolled at the school. The Herald News reported that on March 7th George C. Janecek, 18, downloaded a list of names and Social Security numbers to his iPod and showed it to other students. One of the students notified a teacher and the school conducted an internal investigation before notifying the police on March 13th. Janecek was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of computer tampering and police seized his iPod. A letter was sent to all of the people whose personal information was on the list that Janecek downloaded, but officials say that there is no reason to believe that there is a risk of identity theft as a result of the incident.
The New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan has said that a theft by one of its employees may have put 40,000 patients at risk for identity theft. The worker is believed to have stolen records containing names, phone numbers and some Social Security numbers of patients. The Associated Press reported that the data theft was exposed by a federal investigation and an internal audit. The hospital is not aware of any incidences of identity fraud associated with the theft but are taking the matter very seriously. The U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Secret Service are conducting investigations of the incident.
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