State laptop containing personal data is stolen

Automated summary from: Baltimore Sun

A Maryland Department of the Environment laptop computer stolen from an employee's car last weekend held personal information, including Social Security numbers, for 10,000 residents registered with one of four state boards.

The car was recovered, but not the laptop, said Robert Ballinger, deputy director of communications for the department.

Identity-theft experts said the state made several mistakes in this case, which follows other local data-storage lapses, notably a Department of Natural Resources breach that jeopardized information about 1,433 current and retired agency employees and the loss of computer tapes containing personal records for 135,000 Johns Hopkins employees and patients.

Computers holding sensitive information should never be left in cars, even in locked trunks, which happened in the most recent case, said Linda Foley, founder of the Identity Theft Rescue Center in San Diego.

Ballinger said three credit bureaus were notified of the breach and that the department is urging people affected to contact them directly to request a fraud alert for their accounts.