Laptop Theft Threatens Travelers' Private Data

The personal information of 33,000 air travelers who enrolled in a program to speed up their check-in process has been compromised because of a laptop theft at San Francisco International Airport.

The stolen computer belonged to Verified Identity Pass, which offers speedy check-in services for $128 the first year. The company has more than 200,000 clients and operates at 17 airports in the U.S. It has begun notifying the customers whose information was stolen and a police investigation is under way.

The laptops contained all the applicants' names, addresses and birth dates, as well as drivers' license, passport or alien registration numbers for some. That information was not encrypted on the computer, the way credit-card, Social Security and biometric information is. However, Verified Identity Pass says the computer has "two levels" of password protection.

No credit-card numbers, Social Security numbers or biometric information were stored on the laptop, which had been stored in a locked office. Security cameras did not pick up on the thieves. Verified Identity Pass says it offers a "no-strings-attached" warranty for those whose information is used by the thieves to open new accounts or access their financial information.

"We have now taken additional security measures ... including encrypting [the data], which we should have done from the beginning," CEO Steve Brill said in a statement.

Most of the customers in danger of a data breach had signed up online but had not completed the in-person enrollments, according to the company. Some were in the process of re-enrollment because the collection of their biometrics scans was incomplete.

In cooperation with the Transportation Security Administration, VIP has suspended new enrollments in the Clear program, though existing customers can still use the system.

GE(GE) is a minority investor in the New York-based company, which also has partnerships with (DAL), Lockheed Martin,(LMT) Baker Capital and ARINC.

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