Lenovo staff loses company-issued laptop... and colleagues' data
Their names, salary figures and bank account numbers are now at risk.
Someone lost a company-issued laptop that had unencrypted data concerning staff's personal information.
Despite massive data breaches that have come to light in recent days, people haven't learnt to protect their personal information.
A Lenovo employee has lost a company-issued laptop containing unencrypted payroll data belonging to colleagues based in the Asia Pacific region, where the company is headquartered, The Register reported Tuesday. The information included names, monthly pay figures and bank account numbers.
The employee, based in Singapore, found the laptop missing in September, according to an internal letter dated Nov. 21 that's been seen by the publication. Staff have been advised to watch out for unusual activities in their bank accounts.
Lenovo's letter said there has been "no indication" that data has been misused or compromised yet, but one employee expressed deep concerns about the matter to The Register: "How on earth did they let this data exist on a laptop that was not encrypted?"
The company added it is working with local police to recover the device, and "reviewing work practices and control in this location to ensure similar incidents do not occur."
CNET reached out to Lenovo for comment and received the following statement:
"Lenovo is working closely with local authorities to investigate the theft in September of a Singapore employee's work laptop computer. Asia Pacific employees whose data was on the stolen device have been notified. To date, there is no indication that any information has been compromised or misused."
Updated, 3:10 a.m. PT: Adds comment from Lenovo.
