data theft--US Dept of Trans. --133,000 from Florida affected

Aug. 16, 2006 --
Another theft of personal data has been reported from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's office in Miami. A laptop computer containing several case files and sensitive personal information was stolen from a hotel room in Orlando. In April, an employee of the IG's office was attending a conference at the Wyndham Resort in Orlando and left her laptop in a locked conference room. When the employee returned, the computer was gone. As has been reported by WMR, most of these thefts are tied to a covert U.S. intelligence operation to populate Total Information Awareness surveillance databases. The theft was the second loss of personal data by the Transportation Department's Miami office. On July 27, another laptop was stolen from an employee's automobile. The computer contained personal information on 133,000 Floridians.