Aug 11, 2008 4:08 pm US/Pacific
Missing SFO Clear Laptop Was Stolen, Not Misplaced
SAN FRANCISCO INT'L AIRPORT (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
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A Clear worker gestures at San Francisco International Airport.
AP
A laptop containing the personal information of 33,000 applicants to a program that allows air travelers to bypass airport security lines was likely stolen then returned, not just misplaced for more than a week, investigators said Monday.
The Transportation Security Administration announced a week ago that it had suspended new enrollments to the program, known as Clear, after the unencrypted computer went missing from a locked office at San Francisco International Airport.
The TSA also told officials at SFO and other airports that used Clear to cease use of any unencrypted computers and secure devices until encryption can be installed.
The day after TSA's announcement, the laptop reappeared in a locked cabinet in the same office where it was last seen.
Verified Identity Pass Inc., which runs the Clear program, said at the time the company did not know whether its computer was actually stolen or had just been overlooked.
Investigators are now treating the disappearance as a theft and are interviewing Verified Identity Pass employees to figure out who took the laptop and why, said San Mateo County Sheriff's Sgt. Wes Matsuura.
It was "highly doubtful" that a random member of the public swiped the computer and then returned it to the locked office, which is not in a visible location at the airport, Matsuura said.
No one had been detained or arrested in connection with the case, but the investigation remains "highly'' active, he said.
"We do feel that we're a victim of a theft here and are looking for the investigation to figure out what happened,'' said said Allison Beer, a spokeswoman for Verified Identity Pass.
The Clear program allows passengers to pay to use special "fast lanes" to avoid long lines at airport security checkpoints. They still must undergo normal security screenings once they reach the checkpoint.
The laptop contained applicants' birth dates and, in some cases, driver's license, passport or green card numbers. It did not contain Social Security numbers, credit card numbers or fingerprint or iris images used to verify identities at the checkpoints, the company said.
A preliminary investigation indicated that no information on the laptop was compromised, and the Transportation Security Administration was working to confirm whether anyone had attempted to access the personal information.
"TSA headquarters in Washington, to my understanding, is determining whether any of the info was compromised or not,'' Matsuura said.
Beer said the company had completed the encryption of data on all its computers as ordered by the TSA and expected to resume enrolling new applicants into the program again soon.
Current customers have not been affected and will not experience disruption when using the Clear system. Verified Identity Pass operates at 17 airports nationwide and had signed up more than 200,000 travelers.
The company was fully cooperating with the investigation, Beer said.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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