AIG Laptop Data Theft on 930,000

AIG reports data theft on 930,000 applicants. Proving once again that companies which hold sensitive, private, personal, medical and financial information on customers and potential customers need to be REQUIRED to protect that information and lock down all sources of possible theft or leaks with ironclad security, encryption and theft prevention measures.

As a matter of fact, long lists of news stories relating the theft of laptops containing sensitive customer or applicant financial and health data suggest that it should never be allowed on laptops, without exception.

If employees that have access to those laptops or can download the data to their own computers remotely - then the company should be held fully accountable for all costs to every person listed (in the data held) for identity theft, denial of insurance claims, future loss of access to money, medical coverage and credit.

A quote in the News.com story that shows the need for this type of legal requirement by suggesting the delusional hope that the machine was stolen for the value of the machine and not its contents.

The burglar also took a laptop computer, a camera and other computer equipment, Winans said, adding that the insurance company thought the burglar's objective was to take the equipment and may not have known about the personal data.

This issue will end up in Congress if data brokers and other large companies like AIG insurance don't stem the tide of data theft, loss and hacking.

Technorati security, encryption, privacy, data protection

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