Aug 6, 2008 9:03 pm US/Pacific
Data Inside Laptop Lost At SFO Not Compromised
SAN FRANCISCO INT'L AIRPORT (BCN) ―
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A Clear system participant goes through security measures.
CBS
Some 33,000 people who had applied to participate in a national airport fast-pass program are being notified Wednesday that their personal information was not compromised when a laptop went missing from San Francisco International Airport.
Allison Beer, a spokeswoman for Verified Identity Pass Inc., which runs the Clear registered traveler program, said no one logged into the computer, which belongs to the company, from the time it was reported missing to the time it was found more than a week later.
Beer said customers who had personal information on the computer—mostly new applicants to the Clear program—are receiving e-mails Wednesday about the incident.
The laptop was reported stolen July 26 but turned up Tuesday morning in a cabinet in the same locked office at the airport from which it went missing, Beer said.
The company is investigating the alleged disappearance, along with the Transportation Security Administration, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and airport police.
The agencies are working to determine whether the computer was stolen and returned, or simply misplaced.
The TSA suspended Verified Identity Pass Inc. from enrolling new applicants after the reported theft of the unencrypted laptop.
Information on the laptop includes names, addresses, birth dates and some applicants' driver's license numbers and passport information, but does not include applicants' credit card information or Social Security numbers, according to the company.
TSA requires that all registered traveler service providers encrypt files containing participants' sensitive and personal information. Companies that don't comply may face suspension of a program and civil penalties.
Following the reported theft, the TSA also told officials at the San Francisco and other airports that use Clear to suspend enrollment, cease use of any unencrypted computers and secure devices until encryption can be installed.
Verified Identity Pass will be required to submit an independent audit to verify that the required security measures are in place and the Transportation Security Administration will verify the audits before more customers can enroll in the program.
TSA officials say the suspension will protect consumers waiting to enroll in the Clear program and allow the company to bring its procedures into compliance.
Beer said it will be a matter of days before enrollment for the Clear program is relaunched.
Current customers will not be affected and will not experience disruption when using the Clear system, which allows travelers to get through security faster.
Verified Identity Pass operates at 17 airports nationwide and has signed up more than 200,000 travelers.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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