FBI Dealing With its Lost Laptop Problem
528540
Although the FBI still seems to suffer from a problem of losing laptops, a new report indicates that the agency is getting better in keeping track of its equipment.
10711
TAMPA, Fla., June 19  /PRNewswire/ -- Computers may have sensitive data that identity thieves would love to get their hands on. Magnets, degaussers, and other x-ray or magnetic techniques do not work, even the large bulk eraser magnets are not effective.
626007
FORT WORTH -- Recent conflicting federal court decisions regarding when authorities can search and seize files on laptop computers of travelers crossing the US border have left business travelers confused and asking questions.
726987
The loss or theft of personal data such as credit card and Social Security numbers is soaring to unprecedented levels, and the trend isn't expected to turn around anytime soon as hackers stay a step ahead of security and laptops disappear with sensitive information.
524795
Six laptop computers containing sensitive airport security information that were stolen last month have been recovered, the FBI said.
94945
The FBI has lost 160 laptops in 44 months, according to the inspector general for the  Department of Justice, which criticized the agency for losing the computers -- and for not knowing what secrets may have been kept on all of them.
411906
The office of the inspector general at the Department of Homeland Security has its own shortcomings when it comes to laptop security.
681718
Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine reported on Monday that 160 weapons and 160 laptop computers were missing at the FBI. The report followed a 2002 audit that had revealed that hundreds of other guns and computers were missing. An excerpt from the new report:
85636
The FBI said that 160 laptop computers were lost or stolen in less than four years, including at least 10 that contained sensitive or classified information -- one of which held "personal identifying information on FBI personnel," according to a report released yesterday.
380529
Things just aren&#39;t going well for Timothy Scott Short. Just days after a pair of tech support calls he made to printer manufacturer Digimarc&#160;resulted in his arrest, he now finds himself on the receiving end of a data breach with his Social Security number and birthdate accidentally made public via the federal court&#39;s Electronic Case Files (ECF) system.It&#39;s an ironic development, because Short, 33, was arrested in connection with the Oct. 5 theft of a Missouri Department of Revenue printer and a PC containing data on as many as 500 state residents.Short&#39;s personal information was discovered by the IDG News Service, listed on a court document called a Criminal Case Cover Sheet, which was publicly available to users of the ECF system. Normally, this document should only be accessible to those involved in the case, but it appears to have been inadvertently made public, according to a clerk with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, who asked not to be identified because she was not authorized to speak with the press. &quot;It&#39;s something on our side,&quot; she said, adding that technical staff is now looking into the problem.The U.S. Judicial Conference, which sets policy for U.S. courts, has said that this kind of information should be removed from publicly available electronic court records, but actually removing all the sensitive information has proved difficult.&quot;If you went online to various court systems, you could find social security numbers of many individuals,&quot; said Paul Stephens, director of policy and advocacy with the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. &quot;It&#39;s a really, really difficult question to answer, just because you&#39;re dealing with so many jurisdictions.&quot;Social Security numbers are the building blocks of identity theft crime because they can be used to secure credit cards. &quot;Any time you are placing Social Security numbers online, your are subjecting that person to identity theft,&quot; Stephens said.With the push to make public documents available online, other government databases have had similar problems. Earlier this year, the states of California and Colorado were forced to take their Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) databases offline after privacy advocates pointed out that the Social Security numbers and other data they contained could be misused by identity thieves.Short, however, may have bigger problems to worry about. He&#39;s facing $250,000 in fines and 10 years in prison on charges of possession of &quot;document-making implements&quot; in connection with the theft. He was arrested after U.S. Secret Service Special Agent John Bush recognized his voice in calls placed to a tech support line of the company that makes the stolen printer.&#160;
443029
Don't bet on getting it back The FBI has frozen access to Neteller accounts as part of its ongoing investigation into the company.â¦
401769
More than 1,100 Commerce Department   laptop computers were lost, stolen or missing in the last five   years, and some contained personal data from the U.S. Census   Bureau, the department said.
185711
Also: High security built right into $100 laptop's OS. Read these stories and more from around the Web at News.com Extra.
49236
A watchdog is to quiz defence officials after a laptop with personal details of 600,000 people is stolen.
739859
A U.S. federal audit shows the FBI is losing fewer weapons and laptop computers but at least 10 of the computers missing contained classified information.
676751
(InfoWorld) - The U.S. Commerce Department reported that 1,137 laptops have been lost or stolen since 2001, with 249 of them containing some degree of personal data. The department couldn't determine whose data may have been on the machines, of which 672 belonged to the Census Bureau. It wasn't aware of any data having being used improperly, it said Thursday. The findings are from a Commerce Department review covering 15 agencies that use a total of 30,000 laptops. It comes as businesses and governments try to tighten their control over mobile devices after several high-profile incidents concerning theÂ loss of sensitive data. The Census Bureau's laptops -- used for collecting census data in the field -- rarely contain data on more than 100 households, and the data can't be accessed by the surveyors, many of whom are temporary, hourly employees. the department said. However, the Census Bureau also lost 15 handheld computers used to gather survey data. As a result, the department is contacting 558 households. The risk of the data being misused was "extremely low," it said, since the data is encrypted and two passwords are required for access. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which falls under the Commerce Department, lost 325 laptops, three of which had personal data. One of the laptops was stolen after a fire at one of its buildings in Seattle, Washington. The machine contained addresses, birth dates and Social Security numbers for 146 employees, the department said. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez said the agency plans toÂ strengthen accountability standards, encrypt data on all department laptops and implement two-factor authentication. U.S. government agencies have been stung by hardware losses in recent months. In May, aÂ laptop and external hard drive was stolenÂ from the home of a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs employee containingÂ data on 26.5 million veteransÂ and active-duty military personnel. The laptop was recovered, and two teenagers were arrested in June. Â
60144
The tool was developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory in response to requests from the FBI to provide detail on network activity based on a list of IP addresses related to possible security problems.