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DHHS clients exposed to Id theft as laptops are lost

The state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in the US is facing pressure over a series of laptop losses due to theft that have left millions exposed to the possibility of ID theft, it has emerged.

A dozen laptops have so far been stolen this year and none had any encryption, which would make it impossible for cyber crooks to steal sensitive data that may have been contained in the machines, reports TMC.net.

The organisation has announced that it is to set up a credit fraud alert scheme for clients who may have been left exposed to online threats as a result of the losses, the last of which involved a Division of Aging and Adult Services employee.

Some 85,000 people are said to have been exposed through the incident in Atlanta, due to the fact that the laptop stolen contained social security numbers, says the website.

However, DHHS played down the losses claiming that none of the other computers lost this year had any sensitive information and that three were new.