Laptop theft puts Fla. residents' data at risk
A thief stole a government laptop with personal information on 133,000 Florida residents, the latest in a surge of thefts and hacker incursions that could lead to financial fraud.
The U.S. Transportation Department's Inspector General announced the theft Wednesday, two weeks after the laptop was stolen in Doral, Fla., and five days after investigators learned that its hard drive contained sensitive data. Letters are being sent to those who may be affected, acting Inspector General Todd Zinser said.
The agent assigned the computer initially thought he may have left it at a meeting and didn't report it as a theft right away, Zinser said. He said police found that a lock on the agent's car had been tampered with.
In a separate case, the Veterans Affairs Department said it has arranged with a company to detect credit misuse for millions of veterans whose personal data were on a laptop stolen in May. The FBI recovered the laptop and says it is very unlikely the data was accessed.
