14 DAY TRIAL // A Pacific Biosciences laptop has been stolen from the home of a company employee, which may have stored files containing various personal information about company staff.
There are no details about the number of individuals that may be impacted by the incident, but the company sent out letters informing employees of the event, at the same time offering them one-year of free identity protection service.
Pacific Biosciences is a biotechnology company specialized in developing solutions for gene sequencing. Their mission statement reads that the purpose “is to transform the way humankind acquires, processes and interprets data from living systems through the design, development and commercialization of innovative tools for biological research.”
Stolen laptop could hold sensitive data
The computer system has been stolen from the employee’s home on or about September 16 and could have stored names, contact details, birthdates, social security numbers, direct deposit information, compensation information and insurance data managed by the company for employment and business purposes.
The good news is that the laptop was password protected and there is a smaller chance that the thief can unlock it and reach the sensitive data. However, it appears that additional security measures, such as encryption, were not enabled, which means that files can still be accessed.
Pacific Biosciences filed a report with the police in connection to the theft and said that full cooperation in the investigation would be provided.
Company offers free identity protection service
Senior director of human resources, Natalie Welch, says in the letter to the employees that affected individuals have the possibility to further guard themselves against identity theft, as the company makes available a one-year free identity protection service from AllClear ID. No enrollment into the service is required as it is enabled automatically.
The social security number represents personal information that should be kept confidential. It is used in employment and financial documents.
It is a particular sensitive piece of information that enables malicious actors to dig up additional details about a person, which could lead not just to identity theft but also to financial damages by obtaining credit cards and bank loans in the victim’s name.
Pacific Biosciences could not find any evidence that any of the data possibly stored on the stolen computer has been accessed or misused.
Most of the times, the device itself is more important to the thieves than the files it contains, as they are after turning it into a financial profit rather than exploring the content.