KENTUCKY COMPUTERS STOLEN http://www.kentucky.com/latest_news/story/1019027.html

Friday, Nov. 13, 2009

Five men sought in Lexington electronics robbery

Lexington police are looking five men who stole from Sam's Satellite and Electronics, 510 East New Circle Road, early Friday morning.

According to police, the men pried their way into the store through the back door, smashed two display cases and got away with laptop computers and cell phones worth $6,000.

The incident was captured on security video cameras, and police with dogs inspected the scene. As of Friday night, police said they did not have any suspects in the case.

UK COMPUTER AND DATA THEFT http://www.phiprivacy.net/?p=1445

UK: Primary Care Trusts breach the Data Protection Act

By Dissent, November 13, 2009 8:17 am

Great Yarmouth and Waveney Primary Care Trust and Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust have taken remedial action after the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) found them in breach of the Data Protection Act.

Great Yarmouth and Waveney Primary Care Trust (PCT) informed the ICO of the theft of two desktop computers containing sensitive personal data relating to over 1,000 occupational therapy patients and staff members. The data included information about people’s physical or mental health and, in some cases, details about their trade union membership. The personal information was held on the computers rather than on a network server and was not password protected. The premises did not have an intruder alarm system, the internal office doors did not have security locks and the computers were not protected with any form of encryption software.

Gloucestershire PCT informed the ICO of the theft of six desktop computers holding personal data relating to 2270 patients. The computers were used by medical secretaries for preparing letters and notes relating to diagnosis and referral of patients. Although the computers were password protected and were held in a locked office, the patient data should have been held on a local server, rather than on the hard drives of the stolen computers.

Formal Undertakings have now been signed by both Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT and Gloucestershire PCT, committing them to take a number of steps to ensure that personal data is processed in compliance with the Data Protection Act. The PCTs will ensure adequate security measures are in place to prevent unauthorized access to personal data, that any personal data required to be held on a portable device is suitably encrypted and staff are aware of the policies for the storage and use of personal data.

Source: ICO

HAWAII COMPUTER THIEVES CAUGHT Three teens arrested in school burglaries - Mauinews.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Visitor's Information - The Maui News:

Three teens arrested in school burglaries
Police recover 9 of 10 stolen laptops, a document camera

By LILA FUJIMOTO, Staff Writer

POSTED: November 13, 2009

WAIHEE - Police arrested three teenage boys and recovered nine laptop computers that were stolen when Waihee School classrooms were burglarized last week.

The arrests were made Wednesday after Wailuku patrol officers investigated an anonymous report of a possible suspect in the break-ins, which occurred between Nov. 5 and Saturday at the elementary school, said Capt. Jody Singsank, commander of the Wailuku Patrol District. She said officers developed additional information leading to the identification and arrests of the three suspects.

Two Wailuku boys, ages 16 and 14, and a 14-year-old Waihee boy were arrested and charged with eight counts of second-degree burglary and two counts of attempted second-degree burglary, police said. They were later released to the custody of their parents, with the cases to be sent to Family Court for prosecution, police said.

Police recovered nine of the 10 laptop computers that were stolen, as well as a document camera that was taken. One computer was heavily damaged while the other eight didn't have visible damage, police said. The tenth laptop computer wasn't accounted for.

"This is such good news," Waihee School Principal Leila Hayashida said Thursday after learning the computers had been recovered by police. "I'm so appreciative of the community pitching in to help."

She said she would be contacting police to see when the school might be able to get the computers back. "We'd like to recover the computers as soon as possible so we can put them back into service," she said.

With computers taken from student work stations, some students couldn't do online portions of their studies this week and some teachers lost lesson plans stored in their computers, Hayashida said earlier.

School officials discovered the break-ins at 7 a.m. Saturday when they showed up for an academic planning workshop on campus.

The thieves broke doorknobs to enter classrooms.

Eight classrooms were burglarized and attempts were made to break into two others, police said.

Singsank credited officers Darren Agarano, Kyle Badayos and Emiterio Alvarez for apprehending the suspects and recovering the stolen property, as well as Sgt. Jayson Kozaki, who supervised the investigation. The officers were the same ones who initially responded to the report of the break-in.

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.

OKLAHOMA ATTEMPTED COMPUTER THEFT Open Window For Thieves - FOX23 News:

Open Window For Thieves

Reported by: Abbie Alford
Email: aalford@fox23.com
Last Update: 11/12 10:52 pm

Flat-screen TV’s are hot items during the holiday shopping season but for thieves they’re hot year-round.

Crooks are finding flat-screen TV’s in homes and in a lot of businesses.

FOX23’s Abbie Alford spoke to one business with plenty of pricey items but it was the flat-screen TV that made it a target.

Behind the glass windows there are rows of expensive computers and laptops. At Modern Computers police say a thief wanted the flat-screen TV that was standing on an entertainment center.

Police say many thieves duck from the surveillance cameras but their images are still caught on tape.

In the early morning hours on October 31^st, surveillance pictures show a thief casing Modern Computers near the 81st and Memorial location.

"He peers through the glass and looks at what they have and sees the flat-screen TV,” says Tulsa Police Burglary Detective Donnie Wright.

The infrared camera caught a clear shot of the crook as he bashed in the glass door with a rock. However, the thief doesn’t go straight for the computers.

"That was the first thing he saw when he looked in the glass. Through the glass he saw the flat-screen TV and that was his main target," says Wright.

Jeremy Lance with Modern Computers says after the thief loaded his black 1997 Cadillac Sedan Deville with the TV he went back to try to steal an expensive computer.

"He tried to get it but it was locked to both desks so he gave up on that," says Lance.

Lance says the thief ended up getting away with the cheapest laptop and a 37 inch flat-screen TV.

However, Lance says he wasn’t expecting the business to be targeted because of its TV.

"We kind of assumed that we didn't have a huge TV and it wasn't extremely expensive and maybe they would notice that and not come after us," says Lance.

That wasn’t the case for the thieves who went after Bodean’s Restaurant in South Tulsa.

"They tried to get the television and they couldn't get it off the wall," says Wright.

They even tried to destroy the evidence.

"Covers his head up too late looks straight at the camera," says Wright. "He busts the [camera] and it's still playing."

After twenty minutes of ransacking the restaurant and shouting orders to each other the four thieves got away with cash and their images on tape.

"Obviously they know the camera is there but again they make mistakes, you'll see them come back out without their hoodies," says Wright.

Mistakes that police hope will get the thieves caught.

Police say a majority of the stolen flat-screen TV’s are not ending up in pawn shops but they are being sold on the street. However, they recommend you keep track of your serial numbers on high dollar items. Police say when they arrest the bad guys they’ll find stacks of TV’s in the bad guy’s homoe but say they cannot prove the TV’s werestolen unless the TV and the serial number were reported stolen.

To learn how to better keep track of your serial numbers click on the free “Business/Home Watch” link on the top right side of this page.

If you have any information about these crimes call Crime Stoppers at (918) 596-COPS (2677) or text a tip to “CRIMES” (274637) and begin your message with “TIP918” or you can submit a tip online at www.tipsubmit.com. Remember you never have to give your name and your tip could lead to a cash reward.

NEW MEXICO COMPUTER SECURITY GAO: Los Alamos National Lab's Cybersecurity Lacking - PC World:

GAO: Los Alamos National Lab's Cybersecurity Lacking

Grant Gross, IDG News Service
Nov 13, 2009 5:00 pm

Cybersecurity efforts to protect a leading U.S. nuclear laboratory's classified computer network remain lacking even after a series of security lapses, according to a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

The Los Alamos National Laboratory, which has suffered multiple security breaches in recent years, continues to have "significant weaknesses ... in protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information stored on and transmitted over its classified computer network," the GAO said in a report released Friday.

The lab has vulnerabilities in several "critical" areas, including identifying and authenticating users, authorizing user access, encrypting classified information and maintaining secure software configurations, the GAO report said.

"A key reason for the information security weaknesses GAO identified was that the laboratory had not fully implemented an information security program to ensure that controls were effectively established and maintained," the report said.

The lab has not conducted comprehensive risk assessments to ensure against unauthorized use, has not marked the classification level of information stored on its classified network, and has inadequate training for users with security responsibilities, the GAO report said.

In January, there were reports of the theft of three computers from a lab employee's home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Later reports said as many as 67 computers were missing from the lab.

In July 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy moved to fine the lab for an October 2006 breach that exposed classified data. A contract worker illegally downloaded and removed hundreds of pages of data from the lab using USB thumb drives.

Also in mid-2007, U.S. lawmakers criticized the lab after reports that several officials there had used unprotected e-mail networks to share highly classified information.

There were other security problems at the lab, including instances in 2003 and 2004 when the lab could not account for classified removable electronic media, such as compact discs and removable hard drives.

A lab spokesman did not immediately return an e-mail seeking comment on the GAO report. The DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), while it said it generally agreed with the report, said the lab has made progress in its cybersecurity efforts.

Many of the shortcomings have been addressed, said Michael Kane, associate administrator for the NNSA, in a letter to the GAO. In response to a DOE compliance order issued in 2007, "a number of key technical issues and policy implementation concerns have been or are currently being addressed," Kane said.

The DOE oversees the lab, a multidisciplinary research institution working on strategic science on behalf of U.S. national security. The lab is jointly operated by several groups, including NNSA and the University of California.

UK COMPUTERS STOLEN  http://www.thelondondailynews.com/heathrow-armed-robbery-appeal-high-value-computers-taken-p-3532.html

13 November, 2009 17:56 (GMT +00:00)

Heathrow armed robbery appeal, "high value computers" taken

Article Video Photos

Met Police appeal for witnesses of "high value" computer robbery Crime Desk Police are appealing for witnesses after armed robbers posing as police stole a consignment of high-value computer equipment. Shortly before midnight on Monday, 9 November, a Silver Ford Transit van carrying a shipment of electrical components was stopped at a bogus police census point set up on Stanwell Road near the junction with the A30 at Heathrow. The driver and his companion were sprayed with CS gas and forced out of the vehicle. It is believed that one of the victims was threatened with a Taser gun. The van was then stolen by up to four white male suspects two of whom were dressed in high visibility jackets and caps similar to those worn by police traffic officers. It was later found abandoned in the Stanwell Moor area of Staines. The back doors of the van had been forced open and the goods had been taken. Two other vehicles, a dark BMW 5 series and a dark coloured Audi A4 saloon, are believed to have been involved in the robbery. Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Ian Wilson from the Metropolitan Police's Operation Grafton, said: "This was a well-organised and targeted attack aimed at a specific vehicle that the robbers knew would be carrying a high-value consignment. "These criminals were not afraid to use violence to carry out the robbery and the experience has left the driver and his passenger very shaken. "I'd appeal to anyone who was in the area at the time - 11.18pm on Monday, 9 November - and who may have seen the false traffic census point being set up or the van being stopped by the bogus police officers to come forward. "Anyone who has any information that may assist the investigation should contact Operation Grafton on 020 8246 9972 or if you wish to remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."

CALIFORNIA COMPUTERS STOLEN http://www.danvilleweekly.com/news/show_story.php?id=2360

Break-in leads to stolen property for 45 victims
Danville police give six tips to help prevent thefts from vehicles

by Dolores Fox Ciardelli

Maybe Someone was watching as would-be burglars at a church inadvertently led police to stolen property from 45 recent victims.

Employees at Rolling Hills Church in the 1500 block of Green Valley Road in Danville apparently interrupted a burglary in progress when they arrived at the church Oct. 31 to find that computers and game systems had been unhooked and placed in the hallways of the church.

Danville police Officer Paul Murphy arrived at the scene and began to look into the crime. The employees told him that those responsible for moving the property had entered by unknown means.

"Information was developed by Officer Murphy that led him to a residence in the 1600 block of Poplar Drive in the city of Walnut Creek," said investigations Sgt. Dan Hoffman. "A search of a residence at this location led to the discovery of stolen property belonging to approximately 45 people from the central Contra Costa County area."

Matt Harris, 29, of Walnut Creek and Amanda Bruntz, 19, of Pacheco were arrested on suspicion of possession of stolen property, which was mostly documents, checks and credit cards, said Hoffman.

"These items were primarily stolen from victims' mailboxes, and also from vehicle and residential burglaries," Hoffman explained. "A large majority of the victims were not aware that they had been a victim of mail theft."

Some of the stolen documents had been used to commit identity theft by the suspects, he added. Computers were seized from the residence and are being forensically analyzed by the Northern California Computer Crimes Task Force.

"Over the last month we have seen an increase of thefts from vehicles in town," said Hoffman.

He also noted that nearly all of the vehicle-related thefts are a result of residents leaving valuables in plain view in the passenger compartment.

"It is important that we reach out to our communities and educate the public in current crime trends," said Hoffman.

He gave the following tips to prevent auto thefts:

• Take your valuables from your car inside your house or lock them inside your trunk when you get home. A large majority of local thefts from autos are due to citizens leaving valuables in plain view in the passenger compartment of their vehicles.
• Park your car inside your garage if at all possible. As a side note, please shut your garage doors at night and when you are not in the garage. We are experiencing an increase in open garage door thefts.
• Keep your vehicles locked.
• Utilize lighting to deter thieves from lurking in your area.
• Do not leave your car running and unattended.
• Please do not hesitate to contact the Danville Police Department dispatch should you see a suspicious person in your neighborhood.

The non-emergency telephone number is 820-2144.

NEW JERSEY TRACKING STOLEN COMPUTERS http://www.northjersey.com/news/business/pc_guy/69940367.html

By PETER GRAD
THE PC GUY

Losing a personal item to theft is always an unpleasant experience. With stolen computers, the grief is compounded because in addition to the cost of the unit itself, we also must deal with the loss of often irreplaceable data. In a corporate environment, that may well involve databases containing sensitive personal or financial information. If it falls into the wrong hands, it could expose the company to not only severe financial loss but serious legal liability as well.

A favorite target of thieves is the laptop computer. Laptops are lightweight and small, and, especially these days, most have built-in wireless and multimedia devices that make them particularly appealing.

Statistics are sobering: An estimated one in 10 computer laptops is stolen, and, according to the FBI, there is only a 3 percent chance a pilfered laptop will be recovered.

But there's some good news. A new wave of anti-theft devices is giving thieves a tougher time, and these programs may well chip away at the miserable recovery rates.

One such anti-theft program is Gadget Trak. I gave it a spin recently and was impressed. Here's how it works.


You install Gadget Trak software on your laptop in a hidden directory. The thief will have no way to know that monitoring software is embedded on the hard drive.

You must register the program from your laptop in a simple process at the Gadget Trak Web site. You'll be given a security code, which you'll need in order to activate tracking should your laptop be stolen.

I tested the program by switching the activation on. When I turned on the "stolen" laptop, I immediately received e-mail notification that the laptop had been switched on. The notification provided me with a remarkably accurate location of the laptop – latitude and longitude numbers, an approximate street address and a link to a Google map pinpointing to within a few dozen yards the image of my street where the laptop's Internet connection was detected.

Were I using the laptop while moving, map images would be updated periodically.

In addition, Gadget Trak quietly instructed my laptop to snap photos every half hour, capturing the thief – in my test, me — in flagrante delicto, which in this case was basically me feasting on a pint of H*agen-Dazs.

The images were automatically uploaded to Flickr, a free photo-sharing Web site, which can be accessed from anywhere.

So Gadget Trak not only zooms in on your stolen equipment's location, but it accumulates enough hard data and images to help prosecute a criminal case.

Gadget Trak can be used with camera-equipped smart phones as well.

There are other software programs that will help you nab the bad guys. Absolute Software is similar to Gadget Trak, but goes a step further; it allows the owner to remotely block any access to the hard drive, or, if circumstances demand, permits the owner to remotely wipe all or selected data from the lost laptop.

It also lets the owner establish physical perimeters beyond which alerts will be transmitted to the laptop. For instance, if a laptop — stolen or not — is detected outside a pre-determined boundary, say a mile radius of a company, a warning message can be sent that pops up on the user's screen when the perimeter is crossed.

Another software program lets computer owners send custom messages to perpetrators; I can think of some pretty descriptive commentary I'd deliver to someone who rips off my notebook. But I think wisdom would dictate that, lest you prod a thief to ditch or destroy your property, the best approach would be to send a firm but calm message, perhaps with an offer of a reward for its return.

FrontDoorSoftware Security, despite a clumsy interface, offers a cool feature: It lets you prerecord a message that can be triggered to play by remote. Imagine a thief sipping a latté at a coffee shop booting up the laptop, only to hear it bellow "Hey, the guy using this computer is a thief! Stop him!"

Gadget Trak seemed the most practical and reasonably priced program for general use. A subscription is $25 annually. For more information, go to gadgettrak.com. Businesses may prefer the more sophisticated approach of Absolute Computrace Complete, offered at $53 annually. For more information, visit absolute.com.

Encrypt your precious documents with a simple keystroke so no one can read them but you. AxCrypt is small but powerful. Send me an e-mail with the word PCGUYAX in the subject field for your free copy.

Questions? Contact The PC Guy at thepcguynj@gmail.com.

NORTH CAROLINA COMPUTERS STOLEN http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/news/police/authorities-seek-clues-to-school-break-ins-952477.html

Authorities seek clues to school break-ins


By Geoffrey Cooper
Rocky Mount Telegram


Thursday, November 12, 2009


Authorities continue to investigate a recent rash of computer thefts at Pope Elementary School.

For more than a week, unknown suspects have entered the school grounds and removed computer hardware from multiple trailers, causing significant damage in the process.

School officials reported the first break-in on Nov. 5, when they noticed trailers at the rear of the school used for speech therapy classes and storage had been broken into. A glass window was broken in at each trailer, but nothing was reported taken.

Another break-in was reported the next day at the speech therapy trailer, and a Dell 360 desktop computer was reported stolen.

Damage to the trailers and the cost of the computer in those incidents totaled $2,000, authorities said.

Authorities also reported that a suspect used an unknown object Tuesday evening to forcibly enter other trailers at the school used for nurses, music, TAG and behavior support. The suspect allegedly broke out the front window of two of the units and stole an HP computer, a Dell hard drive and a Yahama keyboard.

Police said they are unsure how the suspect entered two of the trailers but said nothing was reported stolen from those trailers.

During the break-ins, the suspect allegedly disengaged the electrical breaker on all the units.

Rocky Mount police Capt. Laura Fahnestock declined to comment on the matters because she said the investigation was ongoing. Police have not yet confirmed whether multiple suspects are involved in the break-ins.

In wake of the break-ins, school administrators continue to ask questions about what could have spurred the suspects to steal from the school multiple times.

Principal Sheila Wallace said she did not want to speculate but said the economy could be a factor.

“A lot of people are desperate right now,” Wallace said. “It’s unfortunate (the suspects) feel they must take our resources that help boost academic standards.”

Wallace, who is in her fourth year as principal, said she never has run into a problem like this.

Wallace said she was not exactly sure when all the stolen computer equipment will be replaced, but school officials are working to replace the items.

Anyone with information about the break-ins should call Twin County Crime Stoppers at 977-1111.

UK COMPUTERS STOLEN http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/wmncornwall/Man-charged-theft/article-1508540-detail/article.html

Man charged with computer theft
Thursday, November 12, 2009, 08:33

A MAN has appeared in court charged with stealing computers worth nearly £2,000 from a Plymouth IT company.

Martin Wildman, aged 37, is accused of burglary at SMARTnet in Mutley Plain between October 23 and October 27.

Plymouth magistrates heard that he allegedly took a hard drive and three laptops worth £1,975.

The bench ruled that the case was so serious that it should be heard at crown court.

Wildman, of Cornwall Street, Devonport, indicated a 'not guilty' plea.


He was remanded in custody to appear back before magistrates on November 17.