Client_News

Star-Telegram:

FORT WORTH -- A computer hard drive stolen from the headquarters of Fort Worth-based AMR Corp., the parent company of American Airlines, contained personal data on about 79,000 former and current employees, the company said Friday.

The data, which had been kept by AMR's pension department, is from 1960 through 1995 and consists of microfilm images. The data, predominantly on retirees and other former employees, includes names, addresses, birth dates, Social Security numbers and "possibly other personal information, as well as a limited amount of bank account information," AMR said in a statement.

Additionally, there was health insurance information on some people, "primarily enrollment forms," but also involving coverage-related care and treatment, AMR said.

The theft occurred "on or about June 3" and was discovered by the company June 4, the day it was reported to Fort Worth police, AMR spokeswoman Stacey Frantz said. Police are investigating. No one has been arrested, nor any employee dismissed in connection with the theft, Frantz said Friday.

....

AMR said it "has already implemented additional protective measures," including "additional physical security, access control and computer system vulnerability assessments."

Dallas lawyer Matthew Yarbrough, a former federal prosecutor who advises companies on data security, said AMR could face legal liability, depending on the security measures it took to protect the data. It could be the target of legal action from anyone from people who were harmed to agencies such as the Texas attorney general's office or the Federal Trade Commission "if it involves consumer information," he said.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/07/02/2311156/data-on-79000-current-and-former.html

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