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NASA Warns of Potential Personal Data Breach as (Another) Laptop Is Reported Stolen

Nov. 15, 2012 2:50pm Liz Klimas

(Image: NASA)

Earlier this year, NASA reported 48 laptop thefts between 2009 and 2011, citing a need for increased security and encryption of its devices. Now, little more than six months later, the agency is reporting another laptop being stolen and is warning its employees of the potential breach.

SpaceRef.com reported that NASA alerting its employees with this message (emphasis added) :

On Oct. 31, 2012, a NASA laptop and official NASA documents issued to a headquarters employee were stolen from the employee’s locked vehicle. The laptop contained records of sensitive personally identifiable information for a large number of NASA employees, contractors and others. Although the laptop was password protected, it did not have whole disk encryption software, which means the information on the laptop could be accessible to unauthorized individuals. We are thoroughly assessing and investigating the incident and taking every possible action to mitigate the risk of harm or inconvenience to affected employees.

Employees and contractors for the agency were told to be wary of communications coming from people claiming to be with NASA trying to confirm personal information. NASA stated that although it has experts investigating the breach, they will not be asking employees for personal information.

Letters will be sent to individuals who might be impacted by the breach. The specialists brought in by the agency will provide services to those affected.

The notice posted on Spaceref, which was from Associate Deputy Administrator Richard Keegan Jr., stated that the administrator is concerned that yet another laptop has been stolen. Effective immediately, the IT department has been directed that “no NASA-issued laptops containing sensitive information can be removed from a NASA facility unless whole disk encryption software is enabled or the sensitive files are individually encrypted.”

The New York Times reported NASA spokeswoman Beth Dickey saying that this laptop specifically was scheduled for encryption but it hadn’t been done yet.

According to Keegan’s message, as many laptops should be running whole-disk encryption by Nov. 21, but the entire effort should be complete by Dec. 21. At this point, there shouldn’t be a NASA-issued laptop — regardless of the presence of sensitive information or not — without this type of software.

“NASA regrets this incident and the inconvenience it has caused for those whose personal information may have been exposed,” Keegan wrote.

Featured image via Shutterstock.com.

(H/T: IEEE Spectrum)

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Comments (21)

Carefreeflyer
Posted on November 15, 2012 at 8:01pm
Throw the offender in Prison.

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- johnpaulkuchtajr
  Posted on November 15, 2012 at 8:18pm
  Put Paula Broadwell on the job of finding that laptop.
  
  That gal obviously has more markers out with powerful cats than any intelligence agency we fund.
  
  She’ll have that laptop back within 24 hours.
  
  Report this comment
- Rita_Pita
  Posted on November 16, 2012 at 6:08am
  This is why I try to have as little as possible on line and don’t use credit cards. Read fresh political commentary at: http://smallcraftadvisorychronicles.blogspot.com
  
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- G-WHIZ
  Posted on November 16, 2012 at 11:03am
  Iff it’s sooooo secret, HOWCOME THEY KEEP IT ON A LAPTOP??
  
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rockymtnmommy
Posted on November 15, 2012 at 6:54pm
Its all those Muslim relations they’ve been working on.

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Midwest Blonde
Posted on November 15, 2012 at 6:22pm
Tell me why this “sensitive info” isn’t on a network in the office? why is it necessary to put that info on a laptop that obviously can be stolen easier than a desk top computer? And why on earth is anyone transporting that data AWAY from the office?

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- rickc34
  Posted on November 15, 2012 at 6:58pm
  That lap top is on its way to China. Courtesy of Obama…down payment on the next loan he did learn from Bill Clinton who gave away military secrets to China .
  
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123456beatriz
Posted on November 15, 2012 at 4:48pm
Well NASA employees are guilty because they voted for Obama again falling in the same trap like the rest of the country. Now F….u you guys voted for the same lie well pay the price. F…u Florida and Ohio and Virginia and California and NY, including all the Jews living in NY all of them voted for this liar! .

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- turkey13
  Posted on November 15, 2012 at 5:59pm
  This has nothing to do with how they voted. It is a simple deal – you get paid $ 150,000 to $250,000 to accidentaly leave it at a public place and it gets picked up. Many countries would start pulling finger nails untill thye got the truth and folks involved. We’ve got thousands of government people that hate their own country and will sell it down the creek to the highest bidder.
  
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Jake Dog2
Posted on November 15, 2012 at 4:22pm
Was it stolen or did someone sell the info??

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- Vickie Dhaene
  Posted on November 15, 2012 at 4:54pm
  Don’t forget we are trying to educate muslim w/nasa
  
  Report this comment
The-Monk
Posted on November 15, 2012 at 3:44pm
If NASA wasn’t so busy with their Muslim outreach program maybe they could keep track of their laptops.

And don’t those laptops have tracking devices on them?

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Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on November 15, 2012 at 3:33pm
There’s nothing on them, but mohamhead love songs and muslim prayers. No big deal.

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Maximus_Delta
Posted on November 15, 2012 at 3:31pm
Is it me or just my imagination, but since the dope has been sitting on his imaginary thrown the USA has been going downhill faster??

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neverending
Posted on November 15, 2012 at 3:25pm
No worries as it is rather obvious that there are no secrets or privacy protections with barry in charge. I doubt there is anything they have outright shared. Leaked? What a joke.

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Cavallo
Posted on November 15, 2012 at 3:15pm
There isn’t enough money left to run NASA. It is going away as we know it, and will likely be reduced to just sending up communication satellites, if in the end we can even afford to do that.

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mcsledge
Posted on November 15, 2012 at 2:57pm
Who poses the biggest threat in spilling the beans on Benghazi? I’m sure that this individual will some how take the fall. Anything to divert the American people from the traitor and chief.

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doomytram
Posted on November 15, 2012 at 2:57pm
NASA is dead not enough Muslim Outreach, so this sounds like a problem for Obozo “to fix”
Give a problem to Obozo and let him get his hands on and an hour later he will fix it……….and then eat a chili dog fly home to the white house forget it ever happened.

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GhostOfJefferson
Posted on November 15, 2012 at 2:56pm
Is this part of their Muslim outreach program?

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- Gonzo
  Posted on November 15, 2012 at 3:23pm
  More like the Chinese outreach program.
  
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mcsledge
Posted on November 15, 2012 at 2:55pm
So, who in the Obama administration took their turn leaking confidential information?

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