Laptop computers with personal information on 72,000 Ohio Medicaid recipients were stolen from a private managed care agency in Ohio, according to an Associated Press account.
Officials with Buckeye Community Health Plan notified authorities that four computers were stolen from their Columbus office.
Two contained demographic information, including names, addresses and Social Security numbers for all of the agency's 72,000 subscribers in Lucas, Summit and Stark counties, as well as medical information on 13,000 consumers in Stark County.
Accessing the computers requires a password, but the files themselves are not password protected, said Jon Allen, a spokesman with Job and Family Services.
Officials with Buckeye Community Health Plan notified authorities that four computers were stolen from their Columbus office.
Two contained demographic information, including names, addresses and Social Security numbers for all of the agency's 72,000 subscribers in Lucas, Summit and Stark counties, as well as medical information on 13,000 consumers in Stark County.
Accessing the computers requires a password, but the files themselves are not password protected, said Jon Allen, a spokesman with Job and Family Services.
Robert Schenk, a spokesman with Buckeye Community Health Plan, said the company believes the thieves wanted the computers, not the information they contained. The company plans to review its security procedures, he said.
Security cameras captured photos of a suspect, and Columbus police are investigating.
Security cameras captured photos of a suspect, and Columbus police are investigating.
Even though they say the thieves will probably not use the information for identity theft I am a little skeptical. Maybe it was just a coincidence the laptops stolen contained so much personal information or not. Regardless this article motivates me to be more diligent in backing-up the important files I have on my own laptop.
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