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Missing computer has info on 10,500 airmen

A laptop computer with personal information of 10,501 active-duty and retired airmen is missing from Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, an Air Force official confirmed Wednesday.

All affected airmen — 10,001 retirees and 500 active-duty airmen — were notified of the situation in a Dec. 13 letter from Col Kurt F. Neubauer, commander of the 11th Wing at Bolling, according to a base spokesman.

The spokesman, Maj. David Malakoff, said an investigation of the incident is ongoing, and it still has not been determined if the laptop was stolen or misplaced.

He said the wing has been in touch with more than 200 of the affected airmen and none have reported compromises of their personal information.

“Because the laptop utilized Common Access Card user authentication and the information was under strict access control, including encrypted and password protected, we believe the probability is low that the information will be acquired and used for an unlawful purpose,” Malakoff said in an e-mail. “However, we cannot say with certainty that this will not occur.”

The laptop contained a large amount of personal detail about the airmen, including full name, Social Security number, rank, date of birth, home address, telephone number, e-mail address, gender, marital status, total active federal military service and security clearances, Malakoff said.

An airman returning from an 18-day temporary duty assignment reported the laptop missing from the Air Force’s concert band office on Nov. 19, Malakoff said. The incident was initially treated as a routine theft because no one reported that the computer contained airmen’s personal information, he said.

The 844th Communications Group information security office learned about the information contained on the laptop on Dec. 5. The band then notified the 11th Operations Group commander and the 11th Wing commander that same day, and on Dec. 13 letters were sent to the airmen whose information was on the laptop.

The 11th Wing is recommending that affected airmen visit the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Web site for guidance on protective action and for contacting the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on personal credit files.

DISCUSS: The missing laptop and security issues