DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

Navy Finds Lessons In Stolen Laptops, Storage Drives

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Dissent

J. Nicholas Hoover reports:

The Navy received a report earlier this year of what appeared to be a serious cyber attack. The breach turned out to be less damaging than feared, but the incident served as a reminder that external storage drives shouldn’t be overlooked as a security risk, even though USB thumb devices got most of the attention.

The Department of the Navy’s CIO Privacy Office was notified on July 27 that a Naval headquarters office had been burglarized, and that the thieves had stolen at least 10 laptops and nine external hard drives.

According to the initial report, one laptop contained a file with passwords and user names; personal financial data including bank accounts, investment accounts, and credit card information; a personal contact list with cell phone numbers, addresses, and birth dates; “government only” contract information; discrimination and hostile work environment correspondence; and other sensitive information.

Upon investigation, the Navy found that the laptop contained “high risk” personally identifiable information on only eight people. And the external hard drives were either still in their boxes or encrypted when taken.

Nevertheless, the incident emphasizes the importance of security policies and continued vigilance over insider threats, according to Navy department of the CIO privacy team lead Steve Muck, who disclosed the breach in a blog post on the Navy CIO’s Web site.

Read more on InformationWeek.

No related posts.

Category: Breach IncidentsGovernment SectorU.S.

Post navigation

← ICO publishes guide to Data Protection Act
CA: Breach Of Privacy Information At Kern Medical Center →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Horizon Healthcare RCM discloses ransomware attack in December
  • Disgruntled IT Worker Jailed for Cyber Attack, Huddersfield
  • Hacker helped kill FBI sources, witnesses in El Chapo case, according to watchdog report
  • Texas Centers for Infectious Disease Associates Notifies Individuals of Data Breach in 2024
  • Battlefords Union Hospitals notifies patients of employee snooping in their records
  • Alert: Scattered Spider has added North American airline and transportation organizations to their target list
  • Northern Light Health patients affected by security incident at Compumedics; 10 healthcare entities affected
  • Privacy commissioner reviewing reported Ontario Health atHome data breach
  • CMS warns Medicare providers of fraud scheme
  • Ex-student charged with wave of cyber attacks on Sydney uni

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • Supreme Court Decision on Age Verification Tramples Free Speech and Undermines Privacy
  • New Jersey Issues Draft Privacy Regulations: The New
  • Hacker helped kill FBI sources, witnesses in El Chapo case, according to watchdog report
  • Germany Wants Apple, Google to Remove DeepSeek From Their App Stores
  • Supreme Court upholds Texas law requiring age verification on porn sites
  • Justices nix Medicaid ‘right’ to choose doctor, defunding Planned Parenthood in South Carolina
  • European Commission publishes its plan to enable more effective law enforcement access to data

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.