U.S. Army medical officials in southeast Germany waited nearly two months before notifying more than 6,000 beneficiaries of a possible security breach regarding their personal information stored on a lost laptop computer. Authorities know the names, Social Security numbers and health information of at least 26 individuals were stored on the laptop, according to a news release sent Monday from the U.S. Army Medical Department Activity,Bavaria.
The employee who lost the laptop apparently had it in their backpack while at Nuremberg’s main train station, according to the release. The employee, who was not named, was en route to a temporary duty assignment when they lost track of the backpack prior to boarding their train, said Anne Torphy, a unit spokeswoman. Officials believe whoever took possession of the laptop "could not access" the data on it "because of the encryption software program". The user must have connection to a U.S. government network, a secure Common Access Card, and a password to access the computer, the release said.
