Connecting the Data Breach Dots

Kudos to the writer over at Chronicles of Dissent for connecting the dots between two data breaches related to the loss of a single laptop.

The two data breaches were reported separately – one by SavaSeniorCare Administrative Services and one by Mariner Health Care. Both reported that employee 401k data was compromised from a computer stolen from Windham Brannon, P.C., a firm that provides audit services.

The single computer apparently held data for both companies, affecting exactly 2199 Maryland residents for both breaches. Kind of an odd figure to have in common, questioning the accuracy of the data reported.

The computer, which was stolen on December 31, 2007 and recovered on January 7, 2008, had been reformatted a few hours after it was stolen and consultants were unable to determine if files had been accessed before they were destroyed. The details about it all are a little fuzzy, however. It is not clear how many “other clients” were affected, as mentioned in the report.

You can read about the breaches here and here [PDF].

Tags: data breach, data breaches, id theft, breach, breaches, breach notification