Anybody Want My personal Info? Help Yourself.

[Leatherneck]

I've gotten three letters recently  from three different agencies saying :Gosh; we compromised your personal data. We're sorry."

The first, from a company I worked for from 1985-1990 (SAIC) was quick to make amends as fast as possible. Within two weeks they had paid for a credit-monitoring account in my name. And of the three, SAIC was least culpable, as their data facility had physically been broken into and the data removed. But they responded well.

Then there was the VA in the much-publicized case of the laptop stolen from an employee's home. They now SAY they've recovered the device and there's naught to worry about. Hmmm...

The most recent letter came from the Naval Safety Center and said basically, "We had a database on-line that could have been compromised. We've taken it off, and here's the number for the three credit bureaus; have a nice day." Allthe Naval Aviators I work with got the same letter, so it must have contained EVERY NA for all time, as I retired in 1985.

So. How screwed am I?

TC

[DrAmazon]

My undergrad alma mater has lost information for all alumni, students and staff.  They gave all of us the same info and apologies.  

Funny thing, alumni donations are down this year, wonder why...

[K Frame]

Tom,

Heard through the grapevine that some poeple lost their jobs at Bull because of the stock transaction data fiasco.

The information on those laptops was supposed to be encrypted under 2 layers of protection -- the data files were supposed to be encrypted, and the entire drive was supposed to be encrypted by another means, yet neither was done.

SAIC has a new policy.

If you lose your company laptop, from whatever means, and the data on it isn't encrypted, no muss, no fuss, you're gone.

[Moondoggie]

There was another incident recently....

I was notified that a Naval Post Graduate Student lost a thumb drive containing the personnel records of approx 204K Marines who served on active duty from 2001-2006.  Sigh.  This would include names/addresses/phone numbers of next of kin, etc.

I'm thinking a stretch in the crossbar hotel might focus attention upon the importance of protecting the privacy of others.

[Leatherneck]

"SAIC has a new policy.

If you lose your company laptop, from whatever means, and the data on it isn't encrypted, no muss, no fuss, you're gone."

That's what I mean, Mike: even though they were only marginally culpable, the company jumped on the problem with both heels. How long should I wait for the VA or the Safety Center to respond similarly?

[roo_ster]

IME, gov't entities are pretty lax on security compared to their industry compatriots.