Blood bank fears ID heist

By Paul Festa
Posted on ZDNet News: Dec 21, 2004 11:38:00 PM

Delta Blood Bank sent a letter Friday to donors, warning them a computer that held their personal information had been stolen and advising them to take steps against identity theft and credit card fraud.

"On Dec. 10, 2004, a thief or thieves stole one of two computers available for donor registration at a mobile blood drive being conducted that day," Delta CEO Benjamin Spindler wrote in the letter. "This computer contained confidential information about you, including your name, address, date of birth and your Social Security number. We deeply regret that this has happened."

Identity theft has emerged one of the thorniest problems of the Internet age, and the threat has turned some missing laptops into potentially catastrophic security breaches. Wells Fargo in October had to warn customers when for the third time in a year computers with sensitive information went missing.

Since July of last year, California has required organizations to notify residents of the state "in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay" if security breaches have exposed residents' personal information. The law applies to breaches of someone's name, plus a Social Security number, driver's license or California ID card number, a financial account number, or a credit or debit card number with a PIN or access code.

Delta's lost laptop, a new Compaq, was stolen outside the St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Tracy, Calif., following a mobile blood bank collection there.

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Reasonable expectation

Greets Trollcatcher

"Does liability apply here? Possibly. Depends on the whether the company was negligent in protecting the information."

Yes liability applies here and the company is l... (Read the rest)

Posted by: Squawkbox Posted on: 12/22/04 You are currently: a Guest | Log in | Terms of Use

More Steps To Protect Identity Need To Be Taken NOW  andyhayes1 | 12/21/04

Protect Identity Need To Be Taken NOW  trg13 | 12/22/04

Ok someone help me here  Squawkbox | 12/21/04

We have already seen that if a man made it  bjbrock | 12/21/04

Good Post  Jeff Spicoli | 12/21/04

See ya proved my point from other stories like this  Squawkbox | 12/21/04

Guilty is guilty  Real World | 12/22/04

Of course the thieves should be held responsible  Squawkbox | 12/22/04

This is another example of IT users not  bjbrock | 12/21/04

I'm not sure I agree  rapson | 12/22/04

Identity Theft  trg13 | 12/22/04

This is basic carelessness  Protector | 12/22/04

Tough Call  AmusedAtItAll | 12/22/04

Reasonable expectation  Squawkbox | 12/22/04

The central blood bank requires SSN  mathandmetal | 12/22/04

OPPS, my mistake.  mathandmetal | 12/22/04

What do you think?

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