There’s a reason bloggers like me are always harping about the need for identity theft services like those offered by LifeLock: it’s because so many nitwits are in charge of your personal information.
Before I begin my rant, let me start by saying the folks in the Madison, Wisconsin Human Resources Department are probably good people. Like their imaginary Minnesota neighbors of Lake Wobegon, they’re probably a bunch of strong women, good-looking men and the parents of above-average children.
But how did their kids get so darned smart if their parents are nitwits?
This week the city’s HR department announced that a laptop was stolen from a city office, and on the laptop were the names, Social Security numbers and photos of somewhere between 300 and 500 municipal employees who had new job ID cards printed between 2004 and 2007.
First off: Why was the laptop left in an unlocked room used for job applicant testing, new employee orientations and the photographing of all employees needing new ID cards? Secondly, which boneheaded city employee is responsible for storing unencrypted personnel files on a laptop? Finally, why don’t they at least know how many and which employees’ personal information was stored on the laptop?
HR director Brad Wirtz said he recognized that storing such information on a portable computer in a room so easily accessible by so many people was a “bad practice” when his own new ID was printed in 2007. When the city switched to a new practice of identifying employees by their email addresses, they thought the Social Security numbers would be “phased out” as employees were issued new cards.
He was wrong.
“We just didn’t think the computer was going to be stolen,” Wirtz said.
He was wrong about that, too.
The laptop has since been recovered, and police say the data was never accessed.
Visit LifeLock.com to learn more about LifeLock’s ID theft services. Enroll using the LifeLock promo code DEFENSE to get the lowest price and 30 days of free protection. And, take this friendly advice: do it soon … before some nitwit renders you vulnerable to identity theft.
At the end of the 30-day free period, your card will be automatically billed $9 monthly unless you cancel within that first 30-day period. You can cancel anytime without penalty by calling 1-800-LIFELOCK. This offer is for new LifeLock members only.
Tags: avoid identity theft, Brad Wirtz, Data breach, ID theft, Identity Theft, identity theft protection, Life Lock, LifeLock, lifelock codes, LifeLock promotional code, lifelock.com, Madison Wisconsin Human Resources
