It was a major security breach when a state-owned laptop was stolen on Long Island in August 2007 and the Social Security numbers of 106,000 citizens were lost.
Now, more than two years later, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has released a 37-page report that says the state tax department failed to safeguard the sensitive data after acting in a "cavalier and careless" fashion in handling confidential information.
The state tax department "botched its initial response to the theft" by not realizing for five days that the laptop contained important data and exposed taxpayers "for nearly a week to possible plundering of personal assets," Blumenthal said Tuesday.
The Long Island laptop turned into the million-dollar laptop as the state Department of Revenue Services spent more than that amount in responding to the theft. That total included providing free identity-theft protection to taxpayers and taking measures to prevent miscues in the future.
Despite investigations by police on Long Island and a high level of public concern, the laptop has never been recovered. It is possible, Blumenthal said, that a person could be using the laptop and is unaware of the sensitive data stored on it. To this day, there have been no reports of identity theft directly connected to the laptop.
The joint report, issued with the state auditors, says that the laptop never should have contained the confidential information in the first place. The state employee who used the laptop — Jason Purslow — was conducting various tests on computer software and could have been using encrypted or simulated information, Blumenthal said. He had traveled to Long Island aboard the Bridgeport ferry to attend a hockey tournament, and he was conducting the testing while on Long Island.
Blumenthal commended the tax department for its subsequent improvements, but said the state still needs to "improve training for employees to spot and address data breaches, continue to better secure electronically stored taxpayer data" and notify taxpayers more quickly if it happens again.
Before the laptop was stolen from a hotel parking lot in Islandia, N.Y., the state had been handling highly sensitive information in a lax atmosphere in which "employees could casually roam electronic files with little consequence — accessing other computers with no reliable record of their visits," Blumenthal said.
Purslow was suspended for 30 days without pay but did not lose his job at the agency. An agency spokeswoman could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Now, more than two years later, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has released a 37-page report that says the state tax department failed to safeguard the sensitive data after acting in a "cavalier and careless" fashion in handling confidential information.
The state tax department "botched its initial response to the theft" by not realizing for five days that the laptop contained important data and exposed taxpayers "for nearly a week to possible plundering of personal assets," Blumenthal said Tuesday.
The Long Island laptop turned into the million-dollar laptop as the state Department of Revenue Services spent more than that amount in responding to the theft. That total included providing free identity-theft protection to taxpayers and taking measures to prevent miscues in the future.
Despite investigations by police on Long Island and a high level of public concern, the laptop has never been recovered. It is possible, Blumenthal said, that a person could be using the laptop and is unaware of the sensitive data stored on it. To this day, there have been no reports of identity theft directly connected to the laptop.
The joint report, issued with the state auditors, says that the laptop never should have contained the confidential information in the first place. The state employee who used the laptop — Jason Purslow — was conducting various tests on computer software and could have been using encrypted or simulated information, Blumenthal said. He had traveled to Long Island aboard the Bridgeport ferry to attend a hockey tournament, and he was conducting the testing while on Long Island.
Blumenthal commended the tax department for its subsequent improvements, but said the state still needs to "improve training for employees to spot and address data breaches, continue to better secure electronically stored taxpayer data" and notify taxpayers more quickly if it happens again.
Before the laptop was stolen from a hotel parking lot in Islandia, N.Y., the state had been handling highly sensitive information in a lax atmosphere in which "employees could casually roam electronic files with little consequence — accessing other computers with no reliable record of their visits," Blumenthal said.
Purslow was suspended for 30 days without pay but did not lose his job at the agency. An agency spokeswoman could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Jaded_Eyes - I have no idea why Blumenthal backed off of Tiger Woods employer. Here is the link to his laptop report. Perhaps a soap opera could be made from it. It does not look as if the Courant based its story on anything but the press release.
http://www.ct.gov/ag/cwp/view.asp?Q=448744&A=3673
Recovering_Lib (10/15/2009, 11:10 AM )