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May 13, 2008 9:09 am US/Eastern
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Identity Theft Possible Over Stolen Pfizer Laptop
NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) ―
There has been another computer security breach at Pfizer Inc., this time it is the theft of a laptop containing information on thousands of employees, including 5,000 in Connecticut.
It's the second such breach in a month. Information on Pfizer employees was compromised when a company laptop and flash drive were stolen from an employee's vehicle about a month ago, the company said Monday. The company would not identify the location of the theft.
More than 65,000 data-breach notifications have been sent out by Pfizer over the past year.
The company has told affected employees, including many at Pfizer Global Research and Development campuses in Groton and New London, that no Social Security numbers were on the encrypted laptop in the latest theft.
But names, home addresses, home telephone numbers, employee identification numbers, positions and salaries are on an unencrypted flash drive.
The flash drive contained two worldwide reports with information from various Pfizer divisions, including animal health, finance, human resources, legal and medical, in addition to the local R&D headquarters, which employs about 5,500 people in Groton and New London, according to the company.
Pfizer said in an e-mail to employees Friday that the company is not required to notify employees about data breaches involving information unlikely to lead to identity theft, but it brought the situation to light "as a matter of transparency and respect for colleagues."
"After careful consideration, based on the types of information exposed -- and not exposed -- Pfizer has concluded that this incident does not warrant an offer of free credit monitoring protection" Pfizer spokeswoman Liz Power said.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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