What's behind all the personal data thefts?
June 17, 2006


Populating the surveillance databases specified by John Poindexter's Total Information Awareness (TIA) system.

WMR has learned that the thefts of personal data from corporations and government agencies, most of which were accomplished by stealing computer hard drive devices, is more than coincidental. Intelligence sources report that many of the large scale thefts are part of a well-planned covert intelligence operation to obtain data on hundreds of millions of people in order to accomplish what former Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) official John Poindexter was not able to bring about through his defunct (but secretly restored) Total Information Awareness (TIA) system -- the population of intelligence and surveillance databases with files on the financial, medical, employment, telecommunications, and other sensitive data of Americans and foreigners. Much of the new TIA work is being conducted under the umbrella of the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency.

A number of computer security experts have said the recent rash of data thefts is unprecedented in scope and frequency. Some claim that the thefts appear to be coordinated and targeted at specific data types.


The following is a compilation of the recent reported data thefts (not all may be related to the data gathering operation):

Target Data Date Number of
Persons Affected 		Type of Data
Denver Election Commission June 2006 150,000 Voter's records Physical theft
Oregon Dept. of Revenue June 2006 2,200 Tax records Trojan horse
Union Pacific Railroad June 2006 30,000 SSNs, DOBs Physical Theft
KDDI Telco, Japan June 2006 4,000,000 Phone numbers, DOBs Leaked
Minnesota State Auditor June 2006 493 state employees SSNs Physical theft
Humana Medicare Program June 2006 17,000 Medical info, SSNs Poss. compromise
Hanford Nuclear Reservation June 2006 4,000 SSNs Physical theft
Royal Ahold (Giant, Tops, Stop & Shop supermarkets) June 2006 Unknown number SSNs, DOBs Physical theft
Buckeye Community Health Plan (Ohio) June 2006 72,000 SSNs, medical data Physical theft
Internal Revenue Service June 2006 291 IRS employees SSNs, fingerprints, DOBs Physical theft
YMCA, Rhode Island May 2006 65,000 SSNs, DOBs Physical theft
University of Delaware May 2006 1,076 SSNs, DOBs Hacking
Sacred Heart University May 2006 unknown SSNs, DOBs Hacking
Mercantile Potomac Bank May 2006 48,000 SSNs, account data Physical theft
Florida International University May 2006 thousands SSNs, DOBs Hacking
Miami University of Ohio May 2006 851 students SSNs, DOBs Loss of hardware
American Institute of CPAs May 2006 330,000 SSNs, DOBs Loss of hardware
Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corp May 2006 1,300,000 SSNs, DOBs Loss of hardware
University of Ohio Hudson Health Center May 2006 60,000 SSNs, medical data Hacking
Humana Medicare Program May 2006 250 Medicare applicants Paper applications Physical theft
Wells Fargo Bank May 2006 unknown SSNs, account info Physical theft
Dept. of Veterans Affairs May 2006 28,700,000 SSNs, medical information Physical theft
Columbus Bank & Trust May 2006 2,000 Credit card data Physical theft
University of Ohio Apr 2006 137,000 SSNs Hacking
Purdue Engineering School Apr 2006 1,351 SSNs, DOBs Hacking
Department of Defense Apr 2006 14,000 SSNs, DOBs Hacking
Aetna Apr 2006 38,000 SSNs, other data Physical theft
Morgan Stanley, Clydesdale Bank (UK), Master Card Apr 2006 2,000 Credit card data Hacking
University of Texas McCombs Business School Apr 2006 197,000 SSNs, DOBs Hacking
Fraser Health Authority, Br. Columbia Apr 2006 thousands SINs, DOBs Physical theft
University of Alaska Fairbanks Apr 2006 38, 941 SSNs, DOBs Hacking
Ohio Secretary of State Apr 2006 7,700,000 voters SSNs "Leak" on CDs
Iron Mountain, Inc. Apr 2006 17,000 Long Island Railroad employees and retirees, Bronx VA Hospital SSNs, other data  Physical theft
American Red Cross Mar 2006 8,000 SSNs, DOBs Physical theft
American International Group (AIG) Mar 2006 930,000 SSNs, medical information Physical theft
U.S. Marine Corps Mar 2006 207,000 SSNs Physical theft
Georgia Technology Authority Mar 2006 570,000 SSNs Hacking
Vermont State Colleges Mar 2006 14,000 SSNs, credit data Physical theft
Verizon Mar 2006 significant number SSNs, other data Physical theft
Hewlett-Packard/Fidelity Investments Mar 2006 196,000 SSNs, other data  Physical theft
Ernst & Young Mar 2006 thousands of records on IBM employees SSNs Physical theft
Medco Health Solutions Mar 2006 4600 SSNs Physical theft
Hotels.com Feb 2006 243,000 Credit card information Physical theft
Choice Point Feb 2006 150,000 Subscriber data Leak
Georgetown University Feb 2006 41,000 elderly DC residents SSNs, DOBs Hacking
Metropolitan College (Denver) Feb 2006 93,000 SSNs, DOBs Physical theft
Olympic Funding Chicago Feb. 2006 unknown SSNs, financial data Physical theft
Ernst & Young Feb. 2006 unknown SSNs, financial data Physical theft
Deloitte & Touche Feb. 2006 9,000 McAfee employees SSNs, financial data Physical theft
PriceWaterhouseCoopers Feb. 2006 4,000 SSNs, health data Physical theft
Mount St. Mary's Hospital (NY) Feb. 2006 unknown SSNs, health data Physical theft
US Department of Agriculture Feb. 2006 350,000 SSNs Leak
Providence Home Services Jan. 2006 365,000 SSNs, medical data Physical theft
Ameriprise Financial, Inc. Jan. 2006 226,000 SSNs, financial data Physical theft
People's Bank Jan. 2006 90,000 SSNs, financial data Physical theft
Atlantis Resorts (Bahamas) Jan. 2006 55,000 SSNs, credit data Physical theft
California National Guard Jan. 2006 hundreds of Guardsmen SSNs, other data Physical theft
University of Washington Medical Ctr. Jan. 2006 1,600 SSNs, medical data Physical theft
Marriott Dec. 2005 206,000 SSNs, credit data Physical theft
Ford Motors Dec. 2005 70,000 SSNs Physical theft
LaSalle Bank/ABN Amro Mortgage Dec. 2005 2,000,000 SSNs, financial data Lost/recovered
First Trust Bank Dec. 2005 thousands SSNs, financial data Physical theft
TransUnion Nov. 2005 3,623 credit data Physical theft
Safeway Nov. 2005 1,400 SSNs Physical theft
Keck School of Medicine (USC) Nov. 2005 50,000 SSNs Physical theft
Univ. of Tennessee Medical Center Oct. 2005 3,800 SSNs, medical data Physical theft
Wilcox Memorial Hospital Oct. 2005 130,000 SSNs Physical theft
National Nuclear Safety Administration Sep 2005 1,500 SSNs Hacking
Children's Health Council (Palo Alto) Sep. 2005 6,000 SSNs, medical data Physical theft
North Fork Bank Sep. 2005 9,000 SSNs, financial data Physical theft
Kent State University Sep. 2005 100,000 SSNs Physical theft

 
JP Morgan Chase Aug. 2005 unknown SSNs, financial data Physical theft
Arizona Biodyne (Blue Cross/Blue Shield) Jul 2005 57,000 SSNs, medical data Physical theft
City National Bank (LA) Jul 2005 unknown SSNs, financial data Physical theft
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Jun 2005 6,000 SSNs Physical theft
Motorola Jun 2005 unknown financial, call data Physical theft
U.S. Department of Justice/Omega Travel Jun 2005 80,000 travel, credit data Physical theft
Cleveland State University Jun 2005 44,000 SSNs, DOBs Physical theft
California Dept. of Health Services May 2005 21,600 SSNs, medical data Physical theft
Colorado State Health Department May 2005 1,600 families SSNs, medical data Physical theft
Lexis-Nexis May 2005 310,000 Phone records Hacking
Bank of America, Wachovia, Commerce Bancorp, PNC Bank NA May 2005 676,000 Bank account information Hacking
Valdosta State May 2005 40,000 SSNs Hacking
MCI April 2005 16,500 SSNs, employment data Physical theft
Georgia Southern Univ. April 2005 thousands SSNs, credit card Hacking
San Jose Medical Group April 2005 185,000 SSNs, medical data Physical theft
Iron Mountain, Inc. Mar 2005 600,000 Time Warner employees SSNs, financial data Physical theft
University of California, Berkeley Mar. 2005 100,000 SSNs, DOBs Physical theft
Ameritrade Feb. 2005 200,000 SSNs, financial data Physical theft
Bank of America Feb. 2005 1,200,000 Federal employees SSNs, credit info Physical theft


Amid all the above personal data thefts, WMR has learned from a U.S. intelligence source that these data thefts pale in comparison to the largest, and as yet, largely unreported, personal data theft in history. Some 30 million Americans were affected and they included customers of Citigroup, Bank of America, and SunTrust. The thefts were conducted between March and April of this year.


original page: http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/

this page: http://www.radicalhippie.com/default/data_thefts.htm