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(I-SoftwareNews.Com, November 21, 2012 ) San Francisco, CA -- A computer laptop that contained unencrypted NASA security data stolen two weeks ago from a NASA employee’s car near NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
NASA issued a warning to all employees and contractors that personal information, such as social security numbers, may have been compromised as a result of the theft.
In a notice to employees, NASA said, "On October 31, 2012, a NASA laptop and official NASA documents issued to a headquarters employee were stolen from the employee's locked vehicle. The laptop contained records of sensitive personally identifiable information (PII) for a large number of NASA employees, contractors and others," wrote Richard J. Keegan Jr., associate deputy administrator of NASA, in the notice.
The notice went on state that the data on the laptop had not been encrypted, so “although the laptop was password protected, it did not have whole disk encryption software, which means the information on the laptop could be accessible to unauthorized individuals," Keegan said.
According to Keegan, it may take up to 60 days for all affected employees and contractors to be identified and contacted by NASA, due to the amount of information that has to be reviewed and validated both manually and electronically.
The theft has caused NASA to change security measures for NASA-issues laptops, such as implementing full-disk encryption software.
All affected individuals will be contacted by NASA via a written, mailed letter as opposed to email or telephone contact, as a safety precaution. Keegan said that they have hired specialists to identify and assist in any cases of identity theft or fraud to those affected by the breach.
As a result of the breach, NASA has ordered that NASA-issued laptops cannot leave a NASA facility until whole-disk encryption software has been enabled or that any sensitive files accessible through the laptop have been individually encrypted.
"This applies to laptops containing PII, international traffic in arms regulations (ITAR) and export administration regulations (EAR) data, procurement and human resources information, and other sensitive but unclassified data," Keegan said.
December 21 has been set to have all NASA-issued laptops fully encrypted. AdSA has banned the storage of any sensitive material on portable devices, such as smartphones or tablets. All sensitive information is also to be purged from the laptops once that information is no longer needed.
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Source: EmailWire.Com 
Source: EmailWire.com
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