Government: October 2007 Archives

In Washington state, a burglar stole a laptop containing the personal information of 1,400 current and former employees of the King County Transportation Department.

The information contained the names, addresses, and social security numbers of current and former employees.

The laptop belongs to a human resources employee who regularly brings the laptop from one job site to another. The laptop was password protected, but the data was not encrypted. The victims were part of the department’s Roads, Airport and Fleet divisions.

In Massachusetts the Divisions of Professional Licensure and Health Professions Licensure sent out information to marketing firms and other businesses containing the personal data, including Social Security numbers, of 450,000 licensed professionals.

The Division of Professional Licensure notified both the secretary of state and the office of the attorney general about the breach, and has begun notifying all affected individuals.

Affected individuals include engineers, nursing home administrators, certified public accountants and other professionals.

Individuals who feel they may have been affected can contact the Division of Professional Licensure.