Personal details of more than 90,000 Boeing Co. workers and retirees in Washington are at risk after the theft of a laptop, though the company said the information is password protected.
Still, the company and the state attorney general’s office are advising workers to take steps to minimize their risk for identity theft or credit card fraud.
“It’s very disturbing to us when things like this happen, and there are certain steps you can take right away … but we realize we need to go above and beyond those,” said Tim Neale, a Boeing spokesman.
The Boeing computer, stolen earlier this month, contained the names and Social Security numbers of 382,000 workers and retirees overall.
Files on the laptop also contained home addresses, phone numbers and birth dates. Some of the files listed salary information.
Boeing’s Chicago headquarters confirmed the theft was the third such incident in over a year.
The latest laptop was stolen when an employee left it unattended, Neale said. He would not reveal where the theft happened, but he said no proprietary, customer or supplier information was on the computer.
The computer was turned off when it was stolen and a password is needed to log on to its desktop, Neale said Wednesday.
“It’s not necessarily an easy task to access the information there,” he added.
Boeing began contacting current and former employees Tuesday night, Neale said.
Boeing will provide credit-monitoring services for three years for those affected by the latest theft, Neale said.
Attorney General Rob McKenna said the best option available to affected workers is a credit freeze. That blocks identity thieves from opening unauthorized accounts or loans in someone else’s name.
There is no evidence that any of the previous thefts have resulted in wrongdoing, he said.
A Boeing laptop containing information on roughly 160,000 current and former employees was stolen in November 2005. Then, in April, a laptop containing information on 3,600 employees and retirees was stolen.
Neale would not say whether any disciplinary action has been taken against the employee involved in the recent theft. However, he acknowledges that in each of the incidents, company policy was violated.
“It’s frustrating because obviously you don’t want to see this happen,” he said.
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