Disappearing Laptops

You'd think people would have learned something when a laptop containing the personal information of millions of people was stolen from a VA employee last month.

But no. Some people are just destined to learn the very hard and irresponsible way while they drag others down with them.

Via the AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A laptop containing the Social Security numbers and other personal data of 13,000 District of Columbia employees and retirees has been stolen, officials said.

The computer was stolen Monday from the Washington home of an employee of ING U.S. Financial Services, said officials with the company, which administers the district's retirement plan.

The company did not notify city employees of the theft until late Friday because it took officials several days to determine what information was stored on the laptop, ING spokeswoman Caroline Campbell said.

The laptop was not password-protected and the data was not encrypted, Campbell said.

Not only that:

Two other ING laptops containing information on 8,500 Florida hospital workers were stolen in December, but the employees were not notified until this week, said ING spokesman Chuck Eudy. Neither laptop was encrypted, he said.

Need I state the obvious? No, I didn't think so.

ING's slogan is "Save your money". It ought to be "Save your own information because we'll probably just lose it".