Stolen government laptops could expose taxpayers to identity theft

[Audrey McNeil <audrey () riskbasedsecurity com>]

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/watchdog/blog/mc-stolen-government-laptops-could-expose-taxpayers-to-identity-theft-20160712-story.html

You'd think government auditors would be smart enough to secure their
laptops, but they weren't and now taxpayers' personal information may be at
risk after the computers were stolen.

The Pennsylvania Revenue Department announced Tuesday that it is mailing
letters to 865 taxpayers whose "personally identifiable" data were on one
of four laptops stolen from a rental car in San Francisco, where auditors
were working last month.

Thieves smashed the windows of several parked vehicles, including the
auditors' car, the Revenue Department said in a news release.

The department said it determined that "some procedures to secure data may
not have been followed with one laptop" but the department's computer
network hasn't been accessed or hacked.

The taxpayers whose information was on the potentially unsecure laptop will
receive free credit monitoring services and other protections. Details will
be provided in the letter.

The Revenue Department is not calling people about this data breach, so if
you receive a call, it is a scam and you should not provide any information
to the caller. Phishing scams sometimes follow data breaches such as this,
with crooks calling people under the guise of offering help but with the
intention of stealing personal information.

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