[Dataloss] GA: Thief steals records of former, current DHR employees

[Michael Hill, CITRMS]

http://www.ajc.com/traffic/content/metro/stories/2008/03/27/theft_0328.html

A thief has stolen computer records containing identifying information on current and former employees of the 
state Department of Human Resources, including names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and home contact information, officials said Thursday.

DHR officials say the theft occurred about March 19. An external hard drive that stored a database was removed "by an unauthorized person," according to a statement issued by the agency.

The statement did not say how many employees are affected, but the agency employs about 19,000 people. DHR officials didn't respond to a request for information on the number of employees involved.

The agency sent letters to all employees affected by the security breach, urging them to review all credit and other financial records.

[..]

Gov. Sonny Perdue said through a spokesman that the theft heightens concerns about computer security in state government.

"The governor is not happy about where the government is on this," said spokesman Bert Brantley.

Last year, the state lost personal information on 2.9 million enrollees in Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids programs.

After the recent theft, Perdue signed an executive order calling for a single set of information security reporting standards for all state agencies.

[..]




Michael Hill 
Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist
IDT Consultants
404-216-3751
 

"If You Think You're Not At Risk, Think Again!"
 
 
NOTICE:
This email and any attachment to it is confidential and protected by law and intended for the use of the individual(s) or entity named on the email.  This information and all email information from the sender is not legal advice nor legal representation and should not be construed as legal advice nor legal representation. Check with your attorney in your State for legal advice. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination or distribution of this communication is prohibited.  If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender via return email and delete it completely from your email system.  If you have printed a copy of the email, please destroy it immediately. 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://attrition.org/pipermail/dataloss/attachments/20080329/cdfa350b/attachment.html