The laptop held unencrypted information including the names, Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth of people who filed claims related to the Deepwater Horizon accident that occurred last spring.
"The lost laptop was immediately reported to law enforcement authorities and BP security, but has not been located despite a thorough search," BP said Tuesday. They added that the device was equipped with a tool that would allow them to disable the system under certain circumstances. No further details on the nature of the circumstances that would be required to be met were given.
Unfortunately lost laptops containing sensitive personal data are lost every day, and even more commonly when traveling. In Ponemon's "Billion Dollar Lost Laptop Study" the institution found that of laptops lost 46% contained confidential data, and only 30% of those laptops were encrypted, as shown below. Encryption is not the only method used to protect confidential data on a laptop, but it is one of the most easily implemented and trusted ways to protect your company's and customer's sensitive data.
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