April 28, 2006

Aetna Insurance Data STOLEN - REMINDER

Aetna announced Aetna has notified approximately 38,000 members that an Aetna employee's laptop computer containing certain personal member information was stolen from an employee's personal car in a public parking lot.

This should serve as a reminder to ALL of us that if you have data especially on mobile devices and the data is important ENCRYPT the data so that IF the hardware is stolen, the data can't be used.

Aetna writes further "Aetna deeply regrets this incident and has apologized to our members. Each of us at Aetna is mindful that our members trust us with their medical and financial information, and we are vigilant about keeping that information secure. We periodically thoroughly review our data security policies and practices, and employ numerous measures to help protect information and minimize the risks of identity or data theft. These include technical and physical safeguards and employee education. In addition, every year all Aetna employees are required to complete data security training and certify that they are in compliance with all business conduct policies, including data security.

"In this case, our employee did not follow our corporate policies, and it was coupled with a criminal theft. In light of this, we are augmenting our efforts to ensure employee compliance with all Aetna security requirements."

Large businesses have the money and lawyers to deal with problems like this, but if your SMALL BUSINESS has critical data stolen it could be the END of your business. So encrypt and BACK UP the data.

Read the full Aetna press release here.

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