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05 May 2007

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Data Security Breach: 100,000 Social Security Numbers, Banking Information, and Payroll Data Lost

The social security numbers, direct deposit bank information, and payroll data for 100,000 employees of the United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have been lost by the agency on a missing computer hard drive.

According to ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=3142155), the hard drive was lost from a "secured area" at the TSA's headquarters in Washington, D.C. 

While the U.S. White House and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security attempt to reassure the American People that they are doing everything possible to secure our country from people who wish to harm us, it is not reassuring knowing that even secure government buildings can have security breaches.   The TSA is not publicly commenting if the missing computer hard drive is only misplaced inside TSA headquarters or had been stolen. 

Until this computer hard drive is found, as  a law abiding United States Citizen, I'm concerned about someone being able to use the information on this device to somehow gain access and circumvent the security of facilities monitored and protected by the TSA (including airports, ports of entry into the United States, etc.).

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    Jaime Chanaga

    • Jaime G. Chanaga, CISSP, CISA is founder and CEO of The CSO Board, a management consulting firm dedicated to helping leaders and organizations solve critical strategic issues make lasting substantial improvements in their performance. He is also an Editorial Advisory Board Member for SC Magazine, proud member of the U.S. FBI's Infragard program, and a former Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) in healthcare. He is co-author of the book “Corporate Security in the Information Age”.

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