Posted on 02/04/2005 3:14:49 AM PST by bd476
"Thieves stole several computers containing personal information on 45,000 current and former shareholders of defense contractor Science Applications International Corp., which began alerting those people on Thursday.
SAIC is one of the nation's largest employee-owned companies.
The computers stolen from an SAIC administrative building in San Diego contained the name, Social Security number, address and telephone number of current and former shareholders, including the number of shares bought, held and sold.
The company said it had no evidence that the thieves accessed the information or that the purpose of the crime was identity theft, but began notifying current and former shareholders as a precaution.
"We're extremely concerned. This is a very serious matter. We're taking every precaution we know how," SAIC spokesman Ben Haddad said Thursday.
Thieves smashed three ground-floor windows and pried open the doors to 13 offices early on Jan. 25, San Diego police Detective Gary Hassen said.
No government or commercial work was performed at the building where the break-in occurred. SAIC, which has annual revenue of about $7 billion, is involved in some of the U.S. government's most sensitive work, from redesigning Army combat systems to bioweapons defense and improving electronic snooping for the National Security Agency.
Employees of the San Diego-based company can buy and sell shares among themselves once every three months at a price fixed by an outside auditor, based on SAIC's operating income and competitors' stock prices.
The computers contained the information of tens of thousands of people who bought or sold SAIC shares in the past several years, Haddad said.
SAIC is reassessing its security procedures."
Oh, I'm going to sleep better tonight after reading that paragraph...
And knowing quite a few SAIC guys, I haven't sleep well for a long time. . .
;-)
I wonder if this is the same city where they said the cops weren't going to answer alarms anymore because of false alarms?
The company is very active right now, and it's hard to believe that the burglars accidentally broke into an office holding just employee information.
What in the world prevented SAIC from having better security?
NSA info alone could have been motivation for the break-in.
I believe that is Los Angeles.
If SAIC's security alarm went off, it would have been a very unhappy San Diego Police dispatcher who didn't push some red buttons.
Sounds like security needs to be redone at that building, bet that alarm guard no longer has a job. To be able to smash 3 windows and break into 13 offices, makes quite a alot of noise...
Argh, Gunrunner2. :)
It should not have happened in the first place. That place was like Fort Knox in daylight hours at least in past years.
There is not just one security guard, it would be a system of security to get through first. Breaking windows and getting into SAIC would be about as easy as doing the same in any defense industry building in D.C.
Web-hosting company Advanced Internet Technologies (AIT) is big on security. Not necessarily the firewall, virtual private network, virus detection type of thing. More like the barbed wire, munitions closet, and paratrooper type of security. The Fayetteville, N.C.-based company has razor wire fences, painted black windows in some areas, and even a munitions closet with 12-gauge shotguns and 9-millimeter Beretta pistols. Its data centers are protected by 8-inch reinforced concrete and 24-hour guards.
At least, some time ago, SAIC would have been a role model for that company.
It's a puzzle how the people got in. It's beyond comprehension that they got out with company computers.
SAIC turned the software over to the FBI some time ago and the FBI found many glitches.
Back and forth negotiations have led to another company advising the FBI to bail out on using the SAIC designed software. $100 million dollars down the tube and now the discovery that SAIC has major security problems.
SAIC says FBI should deploy its software
Just doesn't pass the smell test.
And they don't have ALARMS?!?!?!?!?!?
Just seems weird that SAIC alleges burglars only stole computers which contained employee information.
If someone was smart enough to outwit SAIC's security system, they would know who SAIC works for (defense industry) and would also understand the value of anything they could get their grubby hands on.
Smash and grab burglaries don't work in the defense industry or at least they shouldn't.
You make excellent sense.
Thanks for the kind words. :)
I’m an ex-employee. I was told that one of the computers had Electronic Fund Transfer data on it. Having this kind of info on a desktop computer is stupid.
I don’t think they have disclosed all of the details of this.
Thanks, Vigl. I agree. Something seems odd - the timing is bizarre. Either SAIC is very unlucky or something's rotten in San Diego.
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