McAfee’s auditor Deloitte & Touche USA LLP has lost
an unencrypted CD containing the personal details of more than
9,000 of its employees.
The auditor lost the CD when one of its employees left the disc
in the back of an airline seat.
Security software company McAfee was informed of the incident by
Deloitte on 11 January, almost a month after the disc was lost.
The disc was lost last December and McAfee has just finished
sending out warning letters to the employees and former employees
affected.
The back-up CD contained the names, social security numbers and
information on stock holdings held by 9,300 of McAfee's current and
former US and Canadian employees.
All those affected by the data loss are being given two years'
worth of free credit reports by credit bureau Experian, to make
sure they do not become the victims of identity theft.
McAfee sells its own product to allow users to easily encrypt
files. Deloitte may well now be tempted to use it.
The data loss is the latest to hit corporate America, including
big losses at Bank of America twice, and credit rating company
ChoicePoint.