An unnamed contractor is being blamed for a data breach at Gap Inc. that has compromised the data of about 800,000 people who applied for jobs with the U.S. clothing retailer.
On Friday, Gap said the data had been stored on two laptop computers that were stolen from the vendor's offices. Although the job applicant information on the laptop -- which included Social Security numbers -- was supposed to be encrypted, it was not.
Gap's online job site is run by Taleo, but on Friday, Taleo said that it wasn't responsible for the breach. "The data loss involved a Gap vendor that processes job applicant data. Taleo was not the vendor involved in this data loss," the company said in a statement.
Gap learned of the theft on Sept. 19, the company said in a letter sent to those affected.
Still, "the company has no reason to believe the data contained on the computer was the target of the theft or that the personal information had been accessed or used improperly," Gap said in a statement.
The laptop had information on people who applied for positions at Gap stores, including Banana Republic and Old Navy, between July 2006 and June 2007. Gap has set up a Web site to assist those who may have been affected by the breach. Victims are being offered one year of credit monitoring and fraud resolution assistance.
Information on more than 165 million U.S. residents has been compromised since early 2005, according to Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a privacy advocacy group.
Many of these breaches have been caused by lost or stolen laptops, as was the case with Gap. However, it is not clear how many of these events actually resulted in identity theft.
This whitepaper explains the terminology and concepts behind Data Replication technologies and establishes some sizing rules through worked examples. Learn the new paradigm in disaster tolerance—protect data anywhere.
Download now »
Server virtualization is a popular option for dealing with mounting datacenter costs. Another equally promising approach is the use of an Application Delivery Controller. Citrix NetScaler provides a low-cost way for organizations to reduce their server count and accrue cost savings from a reduction in space, cooling, power and personnel.
Download now »
The emergence of WLANs has created a new breed of security threats to enterprise networks.
Included in HP ProCurve WLAN solutions is security technology that alleviates threats from WLANs through:
* Monitoring wireless activity inside and out of the enterprise
* Classifying WLAN transmissions into harmful and harmless
* Preventing transmissions that pose a security threat to the enterprise network
* Locating participating devices for physical remediation
Effectively address data protection challenges, implementing solutions that help store and protect business–critical data while cutting costs and improving efficiency and reliability.
Download now »
Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts
This white paper provides guidance on how to develop a strategic approach to managing and monitoring logs, a key function required for compliance with many regulatory mandates and a critical defense against security threats.
Download now! »
Learn about the processes and technologies that support security information management (SIM) operations, as well as the business case for SIM. The series examines different options for implementing SIM and gives you evaluation criteria for selecting the best option for your organization.
Download now! »
Learn the strategies, actions, and capabilities that Best-in-Class organizations employ and technologies they choose to obtain superior performance against various security performance metrics. This report provides guidelines for identifying which security solutions to consume as a MSS and defines best practices for choosing and managing MSSPs.
Download now! »
Recommend This
