BP employee loses laptop containing data on 13,000 oil spill claimants

Computerworld - The personal information of 13,000 individuals who had filed compensation claims with BP after last year's disastrous oil spill may have been potentially compromised after a laptop containing the data was lost by a BP employee.

The information, which had been stored in an unencrypted fashion on the missing computer, included the names, Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth of those who filed claims related to the Deepwater Horizon accident.

BP said in a statement that the personal information had been stored in a spreadsheet maintained by the company for the purposes of tracking claims arising from the accident.     Read More