A PC holding the personal information of some 540,000 injured workers in New York state has been lost by a Chicago company contracted to manage the data.
The data belongs to the Special Funds Conservation Committee, the legal representatives of special funds in workers' compensation cases, said Jon A. Sullivan, a state Workers' Compensation Board spokesman.
The committee sent the PC to CS STARS, the data management company, but it went "missing" May 9, company spokesman Al Modugno said today.
"The employee (responsible for the computer) didn't notify senior management for a number of weeks," he said. "As soon as senior management found out about it, they took the necessary steps to address the matter."
That included notifying the individuals whose personal information could be compromised by the incident, he said. Letters were distributed July 18.
Modungo, however, would not say whether the personal information on the stolen PC was encrypted.
The company also is offering a free year of credit monitoring, free access to fraud resolution specialists, $25,000 in identity theft insurance and email/text message alerts should there be a development in the case.
CS STARS is working with the FBI to resolve the matter, Modugno said. The company is unsure how the computer went missing, and he could not confirm that it was stolen.
"We really feel terrible about this," he said. "Our first order of business is to reassure the individuals whose data is missing that we are working diligently on their behalf."
So far, there is no indication that any of the victim's personal information has been used maliciously.
A spokeswoman for the Special Funds Conservation Committee referred calls to CS STARS.
