Connecticut state officials in the US
have acknowledged that an employee laptop containing
thousands of taxpayer names and social security numbers was
stolen about two weeks ago, but said there was no indication that
the information had been used for fraud.
Sarah Kaufman of the state revenue department said the news had
been delayed to give staff time to determine what was on the laptop
and who might be affected.
According to published reports, the affected taxpayers will be
notified by letter. A web site has also been set up for citizens to
find out whether their personal data was stored on the laptop.
Misplaced or stolen laptops have become a growing security
problem. The biggest case of personal data being exposed to
possible fraud due to such an incident occurred at the US
Department of Veterans Services (VA) last year, when a
laptop computer housing the personal data of
26.5 million veterans and about 2.2 million active duty
personnel was stolen from the home of a department employee.
The laptop was eventually recovered.
