[Dataloss] US Government Computer stolen with PII data

[Henry Brown]

 From the Knoxville News..

http://tinyurl.com/5pbzq5

Inspector says TVA's computer tracking policy inadequate
By Larisa Brass
[...]

The TVA Inspector General office reports that the agency’s policies for 
tracking its computers are inadequate, and in “at least” one case, a 
stolen computer contained employee social security numbers.

According to the IG, Since TVA rolled out an inventory system for its 
computers in August 2004, called the HP Service Desk, TVA has been 
unable to track over 5,550 computers. “The inability to adequately 
track, as well as the lack of encryption, on these computers increases 
the risk for the disclosure of sensitive or restricted information,” the 
report stated.

In addition, it said, the policies for handling and reporting stolen 
computers were not consistently followed.

According to the IG, a computer stolen from TVA contained “personally 
identifiable information — employee social security numbers.

TVA spokesman Jim Allen said that more than 3,000 of the 5,500 missing 
computers had now been accounted for and TVA’s inventory tracking system 
has been tightened.

[...]