Blood Center ID Theft
Stolen Laptop Had 268,000 Social Security Numbers
Excerpt:
Twin Cities blood bank says a laptop computer with 268,000 names and Social Security numbers has been stolen.
Memorial Blood Centers said Wednesday it has begun notifying blood donors of the theft, but they should monitor their financial accounts as a precaution. The laptop computer was taken on Nov. 28 in downtown Minneapolis during preparations for a blood drive.
The theft was captured on building security cameras. Memorial Blood Centers said it is working with police to get the laptop back.
The nonprofit blood center said the information is protected by multiple passwords, and does not contain medical information. CEO Don Berglund said it appears the theft was random.
Spokeswoman Laura Kaplan said they need the Social Security numbers to verify that donors are eligible to give blood. She said the laptop was in a briefcase when it was taken.
Comment: This is much worse than the "double poke" I got last Saturday! A company that I know quite a bit about (wink wink) has Pointsec on all of our laptops AND desktops! At that same company, no employee has a data store of social security numbers! Too bad Memorial Blood Centers has not done the same!
Sorry about your neck. Seems like you're valuable because of your brain. Your posts are varied, and you are a reasonable guy. You know how those laptops would be valuable to a crook. I don't; my Wordpress blog got hacked and I can't fix it. I give thanks and praise grudgingly with my Christian friends.
ReplyDeleteWow. That is crazy. Am going to have to monitor my credit. I can't believe, like you said, that they have all that data stored on local drives. That is not very safe.
ReplyDeleteHere is the official press release from the Memorial Blood Center:
ReplyDeleteMEMORIAL BLOOD CENTERS NOTIFYING DONORS OF POSSIBLE DATA LOSS.
Also toll free #: 888-333-1491
I called today with these questions / comments:
* Was my SS # on the file? Answer" Not sure. Took my name, address and d.o.b. ... they said they would call me. I said that I wanted a letter
* I asked about the multiple layers of password protection and whether disk encryption software was being utilized. The gentleman on the phone did not know. I said ... escalate and please have them inform me.
* I asked when they intended to scrub off the SS #'s and no longer utilize to identify donors. Answer: Not sure. My response (I probably really won't do this!) is that I would no longer give blood until this has been rectified!
* I asked if they would provide financial and other aid if my identity is stolen as a result of this. Answer: Unknown. I said, please have someone get back to me as this is important.
* I suggested that they procure disk encryption software like Pointsec.
I'll let you know what I hear!