MAINE COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM UNIVERSITY Thieves target unattended laptops at UM - Aimee Dolloff (176)

ORONO - Eight laptop computers have been stolen from various University of Maine classrooms and offices since September, and UM police are urging owners to take some precautions to avoid being victimized.

The stolen property amounts to more than $13,000. Some of the computers were UM property, while others belonged to individuals.

"What we think they are is crimes of opportunity," UM Detective Sgt. Chris Gardner said Thursday. "In almost all cases, they've been taken when the laptops have been left unoccupied."

The first theft occurred in September, followed by two in October, one in November, another two in December, and two since the first of the year.

Police said they believe the laptops are being both sold and used by the thieves, but without a suspect, they couldn't speculate further as to why anyone would take the computers.

The most recent incident, which included the theft of a laptop and power projector, was reported Wednesday and the equipment is estimated at about $4,000.

There are no suspects at this point, according to Gardner, but the case remains under investigation.

A campuswide e-mail was sent earlier this week to students, staff and faculty at the request of Public Safety in an attempt to warn laptop owners of the incidents and provide tips on how to avoid being victimized.The following are ways to prevent laptops from being stolen:

.Engrave the laptop with your driver's license number or some other identifiable markings that will be used to identify the laptop and also make it less attractive to thieves. The markings make the machine harder to sell.

. Always keep track of your laptop serial numbers and have them written down in a separate location. This would include mailing in your product registration card upon purchase. Many stolen computers are sent back to the manufacturer months later for repairs or upgrades. Access to the appropriate match between owner and serial number can help the manufacturer return the computer to its rightful owner.

. Never leave your laptop unattended as it only takes a second for it to be removed from a classroom or office. Also be aware that internal hardware can be removed rather quickly.

. Rather than storing your laptop in a case with the brand name on the outside, consider using a backpack with a protective sleeve over the laptop. This will make it less obvious that you are in possession of a laptop.

. Never leave your laptop in plain view and unattended in motor vehicles, classrooms or offices.

Anyone with information about the recent laptop thefts is asked to call Gardner at 581-4048. Information also can be given to police anonymously through the "Campus Eyes" Web site at www.umaine.edu/publicsafety/campuseyes.htm.

US PARIS HILTON'S COMPUTERS STOLEN Paris Hilton's Private Possessions Stolen - Starpulse News Blog: "Paris Hilton's Private Possessions Stolen

Paris Hilton's secret diaries have been stolen. The sexy socialite was devastated after learning the journals - and other personal items, including photos and tapes - had been mysteriously sold off after she put them into storage. Hilton was horrified when a tabloid reporter told her he had been contacted by someone wanting to sell off the private possessions.

Her representative, Elliot Mintz, is quoted by the New York Post as saying 'basic household items, two or three computers, tons and tons of clothing, and hundreds and hundreds of photos and videotapes and journals' were stolen. He added: 'When I first told her, the thing that upset her the most were her journals and her diaries - that is the most personal of the materials.'

Mintz said there isn't a criminal investigation at this time. He added: 'We haven't gone to the authorities and are basically hoping to work this out privately. My interest is to see to it Paris gets her things back. I don't know if any money will be involved.' "

VERMONT COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM SCHOOL Times Argus: Vermont News & Information: "Police investigate computer thefts

February 3, 2006

BARRE ? Police are looking into a burglary last weekend at Spaulding High School in which six laptops were stolen from a storage cabinet.

Police said someone broke into the school sometime between Jan. 28 and the following Monday Jan. 30, smashing a cafeteria glass door, then breaking through another room and into the storage cabinet where the Compaq laptops where located.

Police said they valued the machines at $500 a piece."

INDIA COMPUTER STOLEN FROM BANK SBI South Delhi brach broken in, guard's gun, computer robbed - India News - Webindia123.com
New Delhi February 03, 2006 5:40:46 PM IST

A State Bank of India branch in Sangam Vihar area of South Delhi was broken in last night and a guard's gun and computer stolen.

Ten live cartridges, lying with the gun, and a bunch of keys were also found missing, said sources.

Police came to know about the last night's robbery at Tigri branch of the SBI under Sangam Vihar police station today morning after the grille of the bank's entrance was found broken and ajar.

There was no guard on duty at the bank when the robbery took place, sources added.

MARYLAND COMPUTER STOLEN FROM BUSINESS Police Blotter - baltimoresun.com: "Burglary // A computer valued at $3,000 was stolen Tuesday from TBC Inc. in the 900 block of S. Wolfe St. The burglary was reported Wednesday. "

MINNESOTA COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM BUSINESS ? West Central Tribune ?: "WILLMAR ? Relco Unisystems Corporation, 2281 Third Ave. S.W., was reported burglarized Thursday morning. Four Dell laptop computers; a 19-inch, flat-screen monitor; an overhead projector and cash were reported stolen from the business."

MARYLAND COMPUTER VALUED AT $4000 STOLEN Burglaries & Theft in Calvert County: "A home on Ponds Wood Road in Huntingtown was the scene of a burglary on February 1 sometime between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Dfc. G. Shrawder spoke with the victim who reported that a computer had been removed from the home. The computer is valued at $4000.00. Dfc. Shrawder will continue to investigate this case. "

PENNSYLVANIA COMPUTER STOLEN FROM SCOTT ARBORETUM OFFICE AT SCHOOL The Phoenix Online - Thief strikes Scott Arboretum office


A computer and other items were stolen from the Scott Arboretum between the night of Jan. 17 and the morning of Jan. 18.

Besides the computer, a small amount of cash and the keys to the Arboretum’s pick-up truck were taken.

A desk drawer on the first-floor also appeared to have been searched.

The intruder reportedly broke into the building through a window.

“The thief tried to gain access to the upstairs, but failed,” said Jeff Jabco, director of grounds and coordinator of horticulture at the Arboretum.

A broken handle of the door leading upstairs indicated that the thief had attempted to enter the Arboretum’s upper-level office.

On the day of the theft, arboretum staff members followed usual safety procedures regarding locking and securing the building.

“The normal safety precautions were taken,” Jabco said. “Computers were locked down, and there were latches on windows.”

Uma Nagendra ’09, an arboretum employee, confirmed that the personnel had been very prudent in supervising access to both the building itself and the Arboretum’s property.

“They locked up promptly at 4:30,” Nagendra said. “They had locks on the cellar where a lot of equipment is kept, and cabinets were also locked.”

Thus far, neither the Arboretum staff nor Public Safety has any reliable leads as to the culprit.

“There’s not much Public Safety can do because there’s not much of a trail, but they have been very helpful,” Jabco said.

While no connection has been made between this incident and the recent Wharton and McCabe thefts, Public Safety officers have not ruled out a link between the two crimes.

Jabco predicts that, as a consequence of the theft, the Arboretum staff will necessarily have to be more alert.

“We will be paying more attention, and we will continue to make sure that everything is locked up and checked by Public Safety,” Jabco said. “Desk drawers and file cabinets will also be checked to make sure that they’re locked.”

Another policy change will be an increased monitoring of people’s comings and goings through the Arboretum, Nagendra said.

“Before this happened, some of our equipment was out in the open,” Nagendra said. “We may become more careful about locking things up now.”

In response to the theft, some options have been proposed to tighten security, including possibly wiring the building.

Zach Rhinehart ’09, an Arboretum employee, expressed his disappointment at the fact that anyone would target the Arboretum.

“The Arboretum is such a close-knit area,” Rhinehart said. “Even though it’s open to the public, it’s still a personal place.”

Nagendra said she was also surprised at the theft. “The Arboretum takes care of the school’s environment,” she said. “I’m shocked that anyone would do this.”

UK COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM MEDICAL CENTRE News - Leyland Today: News, Sport, Jobs, Property, Cars, Entertainments & More: "L3,500 PCs stolen from surgery
POLICE are hunting thieves who broke into Worden Medical Centre, on West Paddock, Leyland.

A rear window was smashed and the offenders climbed inside on Sunday evening and snatched a number of computers, despite triggering the alarm system at around 7.50pm.

Police arrived at the scene after being contacted by the alarm company, but the thieves had made off.
They escaped with 10 Dell flat-screen monitors and four Dell tower systems, valued at ?3,500.
Det Sgt John Wilkinson, of Leyland CID, said: 'The thieves were not deterred by the alarm system which was triggered when they broke in, and the amount of items that was taken suggests that a vehicle would have been used.
'We would appeal to anyone who was in the area and saw anyone suspicious to get in touch.
'Similarly, if anyone has seen a suspicious vehicle in the vicinity we would like them to get in contact with us.
'This is a busy medical centre and the theft could have caused problems for the staff and patients.'
Worden Medical Centre, operated by the Chorley and South Ribble Primary Care Trust, was open for business as usual this week despite the theft.
A spokesman for the PCT, said: 'I can confirm that there was a break in at Worden Medical Centre over the weekend and that relatively inexpensive equipment was taken.
'However, this did not interfere with the running of the centre in any way and it has been a case of business as usual all week.'"

MASSACHUSETTS MEDIA WATCH: LOTS OF DATA, LITTLE PIECE OF MIND TownOnline.com - Opinion & Letters: Media Watch: Lots of data, little peace of mind

Last week in Minnesota, someone broke into a car and stole a laptop computer.

The problem is that the computer had the financial records of nearly a quarter of a million people on it. In San Diego, Calif., county officials are notifying about 450 people that their personal information might have been stolen during a break into the courthouse.

In Oregon recently, the records of more than 300,000 home-care patients were lost to a thief. Last summer, more than 40 million MasterCard and Visa accounts were "exposed to possible fraud" due to a security breach at a credit card processing company.

Welcome to the computer age, where knowledge is power, and where none of us really knows what personal information is stored in various places about us.

And we have even less of an idea who has access to it. The collecting, storage, use, dissemination and sometimes even theft of personal information is becoming a major problem these days. It's a situation that may be out of control.

This is an age where personal paper shredders are advertised in newspapers, where computer hacking can lead to a treasure trove of personal information and where the theft of a laptop computer can expose hundreds of thousands of people to possible fraud and identity theft.

One problem is that what ought to be our personal, private information is everywhere. For example, my Massachusetts driver's license proudly proclaims my Social Security number.

Yes, I know they're phasing that out and that I could have requested another number instead, but that's not the point.

The point is, the registry asked me for my Social Security number - which I voluntarily gave - and then used it. At Radio Shack, they used to ask for your phone number, even if you were buying only batteries. K-Mart recently was asking every customer for his or her zip code.

When students register for college entrance exams, they're asked for lots of private information, like religion, disabilities, the highest level of education completed by mother and father - and even family income.

To be fair, students are informed that they may omit or refuse to answer any of these questions on the computerized form.

But frankly, when the college board asks a question, most kids answer it. I know. Some of this information is used just for survey purposes. Other times it's used to make looking-up a customer's records more convenient.

But I worry. My bank recently added another whole layer of "security protection" to their online banking services. It involved me choosing a picture from hundreds available, naming it, and then answering three "personal" questions which presumably only I would know the answer to. Questions included the city where I was born, the name of my first pet, the mascot of my high school, my favorite childhood superhero, and where I met my spouse for the first time.

I know. It's added security and it's for my benefit, or so they say. But it did feel odd to provide those answers, and I felt strangely less secure rather than safer.

The sheer volume of personal information that we're asked to provide daily it seems is staggering.

And with that much information about each of us stored in data banks and on disks and in computer systems - and apparently on laptops that are left in cars - the need for protecting that information is even greater. I mean, I don't want to turn into a paranoid, refusing to provide any of this information to whomever asks.

CONTINUED AT Weblink.........

PENNSYLVANIA COMPUTER STOLEN FROM SCHOOL The Phoenix Online - Thefts handled well
February 2, 2006

Thefts handled well

To the Editor:

After the stories detailing the thefts that occurred in Wharton over winter break were printed last week, I feel, as a victim of the thefts, that I have a responsibility to make sure that the student body is aware of the quick and responsible manner in which the school addressed the issue.

Upon returning to campus after break and finding my computer missing, I reported my theft to Public Safety; that night and the next day I sent e-mails to my RA, Myrt Westphal, Liz Derickson, Al Bloom and Bob Gross informing them of what occurred and asking about what they knew about strangers in the dorms. Over the next 10 days, I routinely sent e-mails to Dean Westphal and Ms. Derickson, as did my parents and Jim Hunt of the Parents Council. In response, Ms. Derickson and Mary Hasbrouck (in Benjamin West House) kept me informed that they were continuing to work on the problem.Ê They consulted me for information as to the details of the computer stolen and, in short, compensated me in a reasonable and acceptable way. Although the loss of the work and, much more significantly, the digital photographs is unfortunate, the school did as much as they could and more than I expected.

In a day and age where callousness and the bottom line prevail at large institutions, the government, and businesses alike, it is refreshing to see an organization that could have played faceless and shirked responsibility behave respectably and compassionately.

Thank you to all the representatives of Swarthmore College involved.

Jones Nauseef ’06

INDIA COMPUTERS STOLEN Robber who killed witness 13 yrs ago held
Mumbai, February 1: Thirteen years after he allegedly killed a rickshaw driver who had seen him break into a house, the law finally caught up with robber Ramakant alias Raju Modak (38).

The Rabala police on Friday arrested Ramakant—he has reportedly been comitting robberies and thefts for over a decade—along with his associates Vijay Sriram (25) and Sameer Parkar (33) while they were trying to flee with yet another lot of stolen goods.

While patrolling in Airoli, Navi Mumbai, a team of police officers headed by Police Inspector Shatrugan Madi motioned the rickshaw the trio was travelling in to stop and found it stacked with computers and electronic goods.

The trio was then taken to the Rabala police station where they confessed to the offence.

‘‘Ramakant has confessed to killing a rickshaw driver who had seen him breaking into a house 13 years ago. He has also given details of the various robberies he’s spearheaded in the past’’ confirmed Shamsher Khan Pathan, senior police inspector, Rabala police station.

‘‘We recovered computers and electronic gadgets worth around Rs 2.43 lakh and a country-made revolver from them,’’ he added.

The trio, who targetted shops and offices, had a simple modus operandi. ‘‘After parking their auto outside the shop or office they intended breaking into, Ramakant and his associates would break into the shop while the driver would stay guard outside and help them load the valuable items stolen,’’ Pathan explained.

The police is now trying to ascertain the identity of Ramakant’s other associates.

MICHIGAN COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM SCHOOL LIBRARY WOODTV.com & WOOD TV8 - Grand Rapids news and weather - Laptops stolen from Grand Rapids school: "(Grand Rapids, February 1, 2006, 4:20 p.m.) Grand Rapids police are searching for whoever is responsible for breaking into a school.

The crime occurred between 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. Tuesday at Ridge Park Charter Academy at 4120 Camelot Ridge Driver SE.
Police are not sure how many people committed the crime, but do know they entered by throwing rocks through office windows.

Two laptop computers were stolen from the library.

If you know anything about this incident, you're asked to call the Grand Rapids Police Department."

US IVORY FIREWALLS Ivory Firewalls - Forbes.com

NEW YORK - "Passwords are like underwear," reads a poster at the University of Michigan. "Change yours often." "Patches aren't just for pirates anymore," insists another poster at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, "Keep your operating system up-to-date."

Behind the cheeky slogans is a serious attempt on behalf of university information technology departments to get their large, diverse communities more involved in securing their computers and personal information.

"I think that as far as information security is concerned, it may be that a university is the most challenging kind of organization to protect," says Tina Darmohray, information security officer for Stanford University. She says regulations pertinent to universities--from the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley act regarding a school's banking functions for student loans--outnumber those applicable to most corporations. "About the only one that didn't apply to higher education is Sarbanes-Oxley because Stanford isn't publicly traded on a stock market," Darmohray says.

Campus security czars can no longer simply slap antivirus software on everyone's computer and call it a day. Today's big threats, such as identity theft, require conscious effort to combat, and many experts say a well-maintained computer and a good password are the first steps.

With organizations as large and complex as universities, there's a lot of communication that needs to happen, says Jim Lowe, chief IT security manager for the University of Wisconsin. His security umbrella covers more than 60,000 users, including everyone from undergrads to administrators to professors.

Universities have joined large corporations and banks as the prime targets for identity thieves who hope to access the personal information of tens of thousands of people with a single hit. Last March, the University of California, Berkeley, reported the theft of a notebook computer containing the names and social security numbers of more than 98,000 people, mostly graduate students and applicants. A few days prior, Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management reported a security breach on a server containing password-related data for more than 20,000 faculty, staff, students and alumni.

Consequently, University of Wisconsin's Lowe says, communication is essential. "Security is everyone's business," he says, regardless of the assumed value of data on someone's computer. Lowe says the push to educate people about patching their computers was key in protecting the school from recent bugs discovered in Microsoft's (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) Windows operating system.

Dorms, packed with students who are eager to experiment with every gimmick the Internet offers, can be especially troublesome. Most universities now employ tech-savvy students to help with technical support, from 11th-hour term paper-printing crises to setting up Wi-Fi on laptops. And to automate protection from the myriad worms and viruses circulating the Internet, many schools spend thousands of dollars every year to license antivirus and anti-spyware software from Symantec (nasdaq: SYMC - news - people ), McAfee (nyse: MFE - news - people ) and other vendors.

But in an increasingly high-tech world, Lowe stresses that one of the easiest ways of protecting personal information is a tool that costs less than $20 from an office-supply store.

"Buy a shredder," he says. "They're inexpensive and they're a good thing to have. Shred anything with personally-identifiable, good information on it.

US HANG ON TO YOUR HARDWARE CNN.com - Hang on to your hardware - Feb 1, 2006

(CNN) -- Laptops are a business traveler's lifeline, so the theft of these vital work tools can be devastating.

Containing sensitive data, hours' worth of work and a direct link the head office mainframe, they are often valued at tens of thousands of dollars more than the price of a replacement computer.

Yet few people take the safety of their laptop seriously enough -- a fact highlighted by the huge numbers stolen every year.

And with computer crime on the increase, one security firm has been propted into offering a training course to teach mobile executives how to hang on to their hardware.

"As soon as they get a laptop, most people start carrying it around in a laptop bag, which just shouts: 'steal me'," Mark Hide, director of British-based security consultancy Planet Wise told CNN.

A 2002 study by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Computer Security Institute put the average financial cost resulting from a laptop theft at $89,000 -- of which the hardware counts for very little.

Some losses are deeply embarrassing. Britain's Ministry of Defense reportedly had nearly 600 laptops stolen or go missing in the space of one year.

A Planet Wise survey revealed that 94 percent of some 200 companies questioned had lost personal computers in the last 12 months, but estimated the average value of these at a more conservative $14,200.

At least one major corporation has decided enough is enough, approaching Planet Wise -- which runs courses on how to minimize personal risk overseas -- to help cut losses.

"The first step is for an organization to develop a culture of looking after their laptops," says Hide.

"People need to get in the right mind set. They need to realize that no matter where they are, they can't leave their computer on a table and wander off to get a coffee."

As part of the internationally-run course, laptop users are taught basic crime awareness tips, such as how conceal their machine inside inconspicuous bags, the use of security and back-up devices.

"It's easy to replace the hardware, but 50 to 60 percent of have not had their data backed up elsewhere."

Distress call

Other advice includes avoiding wireless Internet hotspots unless computers are adequately encrypted and purchasing voltage surge protectors for countries where electricity supply is unpredictable.

While Planet Wise aims to cut laptop theft and data loss through preventative methods, other firms offer solutions for reclaiming or disabling computers after they are taken.

U.S. firm Stealth Signal supplies a software tool which sits deep inside the computer's memory, sending out a distress call every time a stolen computer is logged onto the Internet.

The signal carries information including dial-up phone numbers and IP addresses which can be used to pinpoint the laptop's new location.

Advanced software can also allow the computer's owner to remotely delete sensitive files stored on the missing machine

US BLUE NOMAD SECURITY SUITE PLUS PRODUCT REVIEW treocentral.com >> Products & Reviews >> Software >> Blue Nomad Security Suite Plus

Overview

There are two kinds of people who use computers, smartphones and handhelds: those who have lost data due to no fault of their own (hardware failures, loss, theft, software conflicts, breakage, and crapware, whatever) and those who will.

If you’re old enough to remember the 50s, when Dad left the family car parked in the driveway with the keys in the ignition and the windows down, you know how life has changed.

Personal security, not just for yourself and your family, but your possessions and your data is mission-critical these days, and the more we rely on computers, the more we need safety nets for those gut-wrenching times when they break or fail. It’s about peace of mind.

I backup my laptop’s email every day, and then store it in three separate places. It takes me about ten minutes for this ritual but so what. Would I rather lose years worth of emails? I don’t think so. Windows XP added “restore points” so if your computer went berserk, at least you could roll it back to a previous state of sanity. There's an outfit called Geek Squad buzzing around in new VW Beetles, who will even come to your home and fix your whacked out computer (for a pretty hefty price).

CONTINUED At Weblink........

TEXAS COMPUTERS STOLEN Houston Community Newspapers Online - The Courier - 02/01/2006 - Wednesday's police, fire blotters: "Montgomery County Sheriff's Office District 6 (Town Center)
*Two laptop computers and an overhead projector were stolen from a building in the 10000 block of Grogan's Mill Road on Friday.
*Two brief cases and a laptop computer were stolen from a vehicle parked at Landry's restaurant, located in the 1200 block of Lake Robbins, Wednesday.
"

MICHIGAN COMPUTER STOLEN FROM UNIVERSITY The State News - www.statenews.com: "Police Briefs
More than $24,350 worth of projectors were reported stolen from Kedzie Hall between 5 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Monday, MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said. Two projectors were reported stolen from North Kedzie Hall and three video and data projectors were reported missing from South Kedzie Hall. There was about $75 worth of damage to the doors. The case is still under investigation.

A 23-year-old student reported his Apple iBook G4 laptop computer stolen from the Engineering Building shortly after noon Monday, McGlothian-Taylor said. The student went outside for five minutes to smoke and returned to find his laptop missing. There are no suspects.

Three remote controls were reported stolen from a classroom in the Communication Arts and Sciences Building between 5 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Monday, McGlothian-Taylor said. There were no signs of forced entry and the loss is estimated between $450 and $900. There are no suspects.

Melissa Domsic

COLORADO COMPUTER STOLEN FROM COLLEGE OF BUSINESS Crime - News: "Computer stolen

On Thursday, Jan. 26, at 3:30 p.m., Campus Safety responded to the report of theft at the Daniels College of Business.

An on-scene investigation revealed a personal PC belonging to a DU staff member was taken from a coat that was left unattended in an unsecured office.

The theft occurred between Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 9 a.m. and Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 10 p.m. The staff member was advised he could file a report with the Denver Police Department.

"

FLORIDA SECURING YOUR LAPTOP FROM THEFT The Oracle - Securing your laptop from theft
by Ryan BlackburnJanuary 31, 2006

Communications coordinator for USF’s Bulls Club Collin Sherwin was just getting back from lunch on a Thursday afternoon when he noticed something important missing from his office.

“I had left my laptop on my desk, like I always do, and somebody just came in and took it,” Sherwin said. “I had heard there were several reports of laptop theft on campus, but I thought those were more from people who had left theirs out over the weekend. I take mine home every night.”

A total of 34 laptops were reported stolen in 2005, and 32 of them were taken between October and December.
This month alone 13 laptops have been stolen, with the most recent theft occurring Monday afternoon.

University Police officials said they are looking into one suspect who had been convicted of stealing two laptops last November.

“There’s really no one location where these thefts are occurring,” UP Detective Christine Bennett said. “This has been happening all over campus.”

Bennett said last year some laptops were recovered from local pawn shops, but so far none of the 13 laptops have been found.

“A lot of them are sold locally right on the street corner or the pawn shop or at the flea market, and a lot of them can get sold on eBay where they get sold pretty fast,” said Ben Haidri, vice president of marketing for Absolute Software.

Absolute Software sells computer-tracking systems to other companies and individual customers in the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa and some parts of Europe.

One of their products, called LoJack, can be used to deter laptop theft. Once the software is installed, the computer will communicate with the company’s main system in Vancouver. “It contacts our monitoring center daily to make sure everything is okay,” Haidri said. “If it’s been stolen we flag that in our database and we start collecting information that’s used to help recover it.”

Information from Internet protocol addresses, log ins and e-mail addresses are used to locate stolen computers.

“When your laptop gets stolen, we ask for you to file a report with us and also file a police report with your local police,” Haidri said. “Those two things come into our database, and then we tell our piece of software to start calling every 15 minutes.”

After the data is received, system monitors contact local police officers and work to issue a subpoena to get an address from the local Internet service provider, Haidri said.

“We have to be able to uniquely be able to identify that existing machine when a warrant gets issued,” he said.

From there, a warrant may be issued and local law enforcement can physically retrieve the computer from the home of the suspected thief.

“We have a good relationship with a little over 800, maybe 900 different law enforcement agencies that we’ve worked with over the years,” Haidri said.

According to Haidri, LoJack can be purchased at computer retail stores such as Best Buy and Circuit City.

The suggested retail price is $49.99 for the first year of service and can be purchased at $129.99 for a four-year plan. After 30 days, if the computer still isn’t located, customers can expect a full refund.

NEW JERSEY DOCTOR ACCUSED OF COMPUTER THEFT North Jersey Media Group providing local news, sports & classifieds for Northern New Jersey!

Tuesday, January 31, 2006 By CAROLYN SALAZARSTAFF WRITER

WESTWOOD -- A prominent borough gynecologist and River Vale school board member is scheduled for a court appearance Wednesday on charges of stealing computer equipment from Pascack Valley Hospital.

Dr. Thomas Golin, 54, will plead not guilty because he didn't steal anything, his lawyer, Ray Flood, said Monday.

Authorities said Golin walked into a physicians' lounge at the hospital shortly before 6 a.m. Jan. 16 carrying an empty black bag. Security cameras show him walking out of the room with an overstuffed bag nine minutes later, said Westwood Police Chief Frank Regino.

Later that morning, hospital security notified police that two monitors and a CPU worth a combined $1,700 were missing from the lounge.

They also determined through the hospital's card-swipe access system that Golin was the last person who had entered the room, using his personal ID card, Regino said.

Golin was charged with theft two days later.

Flood promised a "rigorous defense."

"When all the facts and circumstances are known, my client will be exonerated," the lawyer said Monday.

Golin has been an obstetrician-gynecologist for more than 20 years and is a former Little League coach.

He was elected in 2000 to a three-year term on the Pascack Valley Regional Board of Education, which oversees high schools for Montvale, Hillsdale, Woodcliff Lake and River Vale. He was reelected in 2003.

Contacted Monday, Schools Superintendent Benedict Tantillo and several school board members said they were unaware of Golin's arrest and would not comment on the case.

Flood said Golin has no intention of resigning from the school board because he is innocent.

E-mail: salazar@northjersey.com

CALIFORNIA DATA DOTS ENLISTED TO IDENTIFY PROPERTY SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Metro -- Anti-theft dots
Lt. Robert McManus showed off the newest crime-fighting weapon at San Diego State University police headquarters – a dot so small a grain of rice could push it around.

McManus – and police at other California State University campuses – says that these dinky dots, called DataDots, could offer a high-tech deterrent against the persistent thefts plaguing the urban 33,000-student campus.

The dots work like microscopic identification tags.

Students can buy them in the bookstore and apply them to their ever-increasing arsenal of expensive equipment: laptop computers, iPod portable music players, TVs, stereos, bicycles, skateboards and even textbooks.

The dots are a 21st-century version of the labels mothers would sew inside children's jackets.

The operating principle for the high-tech markers is that the bad guys can't see them, but the good guys can.

Campus police have a special microscope to read the coding, which leads officers to the rightful owner of stolen equipment.

“I can't tell you how many times I've pulled someone over where there's something suspicious, and he's got a bunch of car stereos and iPods in the trunk and I know they're stolen but I can't prove it, so there's nothing I can do about it,” McManus said.

Theft is often a profitable business at a place with a transient population, as SDSU's statistics show.

Of the 30 laptops, copy machines and other electronic office equipment reported stolen in the past year, officials said none has been recovered.

Of the 259 property thefts reported last year, including iPods and car stereos, seven items have been found, McManus said. SDSU had 216 stolen books, bikes and cell phones reported over that period; 13 were recovered.

SDSU police do better with grand theft auto. They recovered 32 of the 61 cars stolen on or near campus last year.

To decode the dots, McManus peered through a special lighted scope about the size of a penlight flashlight that allows police to see the coding on each dot.

If the dots sound vaguely spylike, they are, said Steve Campbell of MicroID Technologies, the Western distributor of DataDots.

The technology dates to World War II when it was used in espionage, Campbell said from the company's Gold Country headquarters in Sonora. For example, experts then used jewelers' tools to engrave dots in the periods of sentences in messages sent to undercover operatives. Tho dots couldn't be decoded by the enemy.

The company started with the college market this winter on select California State University campuses. Already, the dots have been used by rental car companies and automobile distributors, Campbell said.

Dot kits sell for $19.95 in the SDSU bookstore and come with a Q-tip style applicator that people use to swab the dots onto their most precious stuff.

They register their dot-kit identification number on the company's Web site, so if their laptop gets stolen and the police find it, the officers can wave a hand-held black light over the computer to see if it has DataDots. If it does, they can use their scope to find the coded label and track the owner through the Web site.

It's too soon to tell whether the campus is going to go dot-ty because students were focused on buying books with the start of classes, Aztec Shops said.

“I'm not saying we're endorsing this technology 100 percent,” McManus said. “But we'll give it a try and see if it helps.”

OKLAHOMA COMPUTER STOLEN FROM SCHOOL ChannelOklahoma.com - News - Police Say Graffiti Key To Weekend Theft: "OKLAHOMA CITY -- Metro police believe thieves left their calling card on an Oklahoma City school.

Sometime over the weekend, thieves broke into Jefferson Middle School and stole a teacher's personal computer. Officers said whoever committed the crime also spray-painted gang graffiti outside of the school.

According to police, the computer was the only thing taken."

CALIFORNIA BIOMETRIC COMPUTER SECURITY COMPANY UPEK ATTENDS 'THINK FEST' ON INNOVATION IN CHINA Inside Bay Area - Business News

What does Emeryville businessman Alan Kramer have in common with China's vice premier Zeng Peiyan, German Chancellor Angela Markel and the chief executives of the world's largest companies?

They are all among the people who gathered this past week at the annual "think fest" known as the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Kramer, founder of biometrics startup UPEK Inc., was among the 2,340 of the world's most influential people attending the forum, along with Richmond recycling inventor Michael Biddle, founder of MBA Polymers Inc.; Emeryville biotechnologist Jay Keasling, founder of Amyris Biotechnologies Inc.; and Jay Wohlgemuth, co-founder of South San Francisco's XDx Inc.

Kramer, Biddle, Keasling and Wohlgemuth are not household names along the lines of Bill Gates and Bono — two newsmakers in recent World Economic Forum meetings.

Yet the founders of these local companies were invited to the globe's most prestigious business and political meeting because they are "technology pioneers," according to the World Economic Forum. The forum named 36 companies from around the globe as technology pioneers because they are "involved in the development of life-changing technology innovation and have the potential for long-term impact on business and society." Twelve of the 36 pioneers are from California.

"I'm excited just to be recognized on that scale and be in the presence of those types of leaders," Kramer of UPEK said during an interview before the forum began. "But also being there and hearing what people are talking about might open up other ideas for our company," he said. Though he speaks humbly, Kramer does not dispute that the company he formed is a technology pioneer.

"In a matter of only a few years, UPEK succeeded to drive a technology considered essentially experimental to one quickly gaining mainstream acceptance" from major electronics companies, he said.
UPEK pioneered a way to detect the subtle changes in the electrical field emanating from human skin to create a fingerprint swipe security system that is much smaller, lighter, cheaper and more reliable than fingerprint security systems that have existed before.

In this day when incidents of data stolen from computers are frequent and identity theft is a common scare, the biometric sensors from UPEK fairly quickly found a market.

IBM puts them in its ThinkPad T43 notebook computers. Fujitsu puts them in cell phones sold in Japan. Government agencies use them at security checks for building entrances.

The older fingerprint security technology used optical scanners that essentially take digital pictures of fingerprints and match them with stored pictures of those allowed access to a device or building. But these systems have always been somewhat large — too large to install in notebook computers for which lightness is a characteristic.

UPEK's sensors use analog technology or analog chips to measure changes in the electrical field that emanates from human skin. The sensor, therefore, detects the ridges and valleys of the groves on a fingertip.

Previously, the idea of putting an optical scanner in a laptop or cell phone was blocked by the added size and weight — and thus inconvenience. UPEK's biometric scanner is only 3/4- by 1/2-inch large. Last year, IBM sold 1 million of its ThinkPads with the biometric sensor. UPEK also signed deals with laptop makers Sony, Acer and NEC.

NEBRASKA COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM BUSINESS Beatrice Daily Sun
$8,500 worth stolen from Oregon Trail
Monday, January 30, 2006 10:07 AM CST
About $8,500 worth of laptop computers, tools and clothing were stolen from Oregon Trail Equipment Thursday evening.

The burglary took place between 5 p.m. Thursday and 8 a.m. Friday at the store, located just north of Beatrice on U.S. Highway 77, according to a Gage County Sheriff's Office news release.

The burglar entered by breaking an office window with a board that was located near the window.

Anyone with information about the burglary should contact the Gage County Sheriff's Office at 402-223-5222, or by calling the Crime Stoppers hotline, 402-228-4343.

IOWA TEEN ADMITS TO NEWSPAPER THEFT OF COMPUTERS QCTimes.com - The Quad-City Times Newspaper
A newcomer to Wilton, Iowa, confessed Sunday to taking about $10,000 in office equipment from the Wilton-Durant Advocate in Wilton, Iowa.

Assistant Wilton Police Chief Scott Layne said that his department has been investigating a Jan. 23 theft of computers, digital cameras, a printer, a bank bag, cash and items from the newspaper.

“The paper’s publishers put out a $500 reward for any tips leading to the arrest and/or conviction (of whoever took the items),” Layne said. “We’ve been following up a bunch of leads.” The publishers also offered a $500 reward for the safe return of two Macintosh computers.

One caller’s advice “turned out to be a good tip,” Layne said. “We watched (the suspect’s) place last night, did a trash pull at the home and found a lot of things that were taken from the Advocate.”

Layne subsequently interviewed Pedro E. Gines-Colon, 18, of Wilton, formerly of Puerto Rico, who confessed that he was selling the items. “We actually located some things in Wilton, West Liberty and Chicago,” Layne said.

Layne spoke with a man who had purchased some of the stolen property. “He’ll either show up (today) by 3 p.m. or we’ll issue a warrant for his arrest too. But I think he’ll show up,” Layne said.

Layne said that Gines-Colon, who has lived in Wilton for only five months, went to his apartment, where “he had hidden some things in the ceiling tile. He had one of the computers up there,” Layne said.
Gines-Colon was charged with third-degree burglary, and was being held on $13,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear this morning before a judge in the Muscatine County Courthouse.

The recovered items will be held until the outcome of the case has been determined, Layne said.

Layne said that Gines-Colon apparently entered the Advocate through a steel door in the alley that wasn’t always locked. “They’re using a deadbolt now,” Layne said.

Gines-Colon’s girlfriend is two months pregnant, so he needed the money, Gines-Colon told Layne. But Gines-Colon did have a job at Plasticraft Manufacturing, Layne said

CALIFORNIA COMPUTERS STOLEN Marin Independent Journal - News - Marin
CORTE MADERA
- 1/21, theft: A Sony laptop computer and a 15-inch screen were reported stolen from a business on Tamal Plaza. The equipment was valued at $1,700.

NOVATO
1/18, burglary: Someone ransacked an office on Galli Drive and stole a computer, police reported. The loss was estimated at $6,000.

CALIFORNIA COMPUTERS STOLEN AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY The Stanford Daily Online Edition
Theft was once again the most ubiquitous crime on campus this past week, as over four laptops were reported stolen, and a person found with a stolen bicycle was booked into jail.

Sunday, Jan. 22
• It was reported today that a laptop computer was stolen from a room at Ayrshire Farm during a party.

UK NIST UPDATES CYRPTOGRAPHY GUIDELINES FOR US FEDERAL AGENCIES NIST updates cryptography guidelines for U.S. Federal Agencies - IT Security News - SC Magazine UK: "NIST updates cryptography guidelines for U.S. Federal Agencies
William Eazel 30 Jan 2006 09:47

In a bid to help U.S. federal agencies protect sensitive, but unclassified information, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has updated a set of guidelines for selecting and implementing cryptographic methods.

Originally published in 1999, Guideline for Implementing Cryptography in the Federal Government (NIST Special Publication 800-21-1) is intended primarily for federal employees who design computer systems and procure, install and operate security products to meet specific needs.

NIST warned that the need for securing data is more pressing now than ever before: 'In an increasingly open environment of interconnected computer systems and networks, security is essential to ensure that information remains confidential, is not modified or destroyed and is available when needed.'

The publication is one of a series of key standards and guidelines produced by NIST's computer security experts to help federal agencies improve their information technology security and comply with the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) of 2002.

FISMA requires all federal agencies to develop, document and implement agency-wide information security programs and to provide security for the information and information systems that support the operations and assets of the agency. The act called upon NIST to develop the standards and guidelines needed for."

WASHINGTON D.C DATA THEFT HITS MANY UNIVERSITIES, STUDY SHOWS The Daily Colonial
By Eva Sylwester, Oregon Daily Emerald (U. Oregon)

(U-WIRE) EUGENE, Ore. -- Since February 2005, the personal data of more than 52 million Americans has been compromised, in many cases through breaches of computer systems at colleges and universities, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse reported this week.

Of 113 data breaches reported, 55 took place at colleges, universities and university-affiliated medical centers. Stolen data included Social Security numbers, account numbers and driver's license numbers, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse Web site.

The University of Oregon was not one of the affected schools, but other institutions in the Pac-10 conference, such as University of California-Berkeley, Stanford University and the University of Washington Medical Center, were.

"We as an institution have not had any kind of system break-ins," University registrar Herbert Chereck said. "We've been very fortunate."

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse director Beth Givens said universities are vulnerable to these problems because they possess lots of data but often have it spread throughout various locations on campus, making it difficult to control who has access to the data.

"They're a classic decentralized environment," she said.

Givens said universities could do a better job of protecting students by encrypting student records, collecting less information about students and limiting use of Social Security numbers in student files. She said universities should especially avoid using Social Security numbers as student identification numbers.

In the past, the University used Social Security numbers as student identification numbers, but beginning in 2003, all new students were assigned randomly generated identification numbers beginning with 950, and the process of getting new identification numbers for all students and staff was completed in winter 2005, according to the University registrar's Web site.

Chereck said this was done as a preventative measure rather than as a response to problems. He added that the Computing Center does a good job putting technical safeguards in place, although he declined to give specifics about what processes the University uses.

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a San Diego-based nonprofit consumer advocacy group founded in 1992, began compiling a list of data breaches on Feb. 15, 2005 when information broker ChoicePoint announced that its data had been breached. Prior to that point, only California required organizations to disclose leaks of sensitive data. Because ChoicePoint had data from people throughout the country, the company announced the leak on a national scale, Givens said. Since then, other organizations with similar problems have followed suit.

As a result of increased attention to the issue, in December 2005, San Diego company ID Analytics, Inc. released a study of the level of misuse of identity information resulting from four actual data breaches. The study found that breaches of identity information are more likely than breaches of account information to lead to identity theft. But that even for identity information breaches, fewer than one in 1,000 people whose data is compromised will have their data fraudulently misused, according to the ID Analytics Web site.

The University of Washington Medical Center had two laptop computers, one containing information about medical center patients, stolen in a late-December break-in. Seattle police are currently investigating the matter, and University of Washington Medical Center spokeswoman Clare Hagerty said the medical center sent letters to all the affected patients, advising them to call the three major federal credit bureaus to check their credit status and visit the Federal Trade Commission and Washington State Attorney General's Web sites for more information.

"As of now, there's been no identity theft whatsoever," Hagerty said.

While absent computers are easy to detect, some data thefts are more covert. In the case of ChoicePoint, a Nigerian fraud ring infiltrated the database by pretending to be private investigators and debt collectors, ChoicePoint's usual customers. The scam was only caught when a ChoicePoint employee noticed that the supposed debt collectors were sending faxes from a copy shop chain rather than from their own office and became suspicious, Givens said.

Even if a person has data at an institution that is hacked into, Givens said it's not easy to make connections between identity theft and security breaches.

"Only about 50 percent of victims know how it happened," Givens said. "It is really difficult to connect the dots."

Givens recommended that people protect themselves from identity theft by checking their credit reports regularly, adding that everyone is allowed a free report from each of the three federal credit bureaus once a year.

"The more quickly you detect identity theft, the easier it is to recover," Givens said.

INDIA MANAGING MOBILE SECURITY BREACHES Managing mobile security breaches


CONVERGENCE
Managing mobile security breaches
With the use of mobile devices by corporates on the rise, IT departments have their hands full combating data loss and security breaches

MEGHA BANDUNI
Posted online: Monday, January 30, 2006 at 0000 hours IST

The battle between technology and security seems to be never-ending. When mobile computing devices such as PDAs, laptops, handhelds and smartphones were introduced, few would have thought about the related security concerns if they were lost or stolen. “At Patni, for ensuring data protection, we try not to store critical information on mobile devices,” says Ajay Soni, senior manager, IT, IMD Patni Computer Systems.

According to a recent Mobile Usage Survey, it was discovered that almost 30 percent of users store their PINs, passwords and other critical information on their handheld devices without enabling the basic security features present on the system.

With an increasing number of people storing company data on mobile devices such as smartphones, PDAs, laptops and USB drives, and with Bluetooth-enabled devices entering the mainstream, IT departments are confronted with security issues. Information such as customer contacts, e-mail details, passwords and bank account details, as well as that related to private matters, is getting stored in devices without much consideration to security.

A lost PDA or smartphone with no protection makes easy pickings for thieves, hackers or competitors with regard to corporate information. This could have an impact on customer confidence and damage a company’s reputation. Since mobile devices have become a necessity among all top-rung executives, the demand for security within an organisation is growing rapidly. Hence, the first step that most CIOs practice and recommend is encryption of data. Other solutions could be creating awareness, conducting training, and using passwords.

The key security issues faced by users of mobile devices are misuse of data if stolen, the ease with which data can leak out, and unauthorised access. Encrypting data, factor authentication and blocking data transfer to pen drives are some of the measures that CIOs can consider to ensure security on their mobile devices.

According to Ajay Soni, Senior Manager, IT, IMD, Patni Computer Systems, the three main issues in using mobile devices are data security, theft and virus infection. “There are various ways through which one can take precautions such as encryption of data, dual factor log-on, and so on.”

But in spite of encryption, the chances of losing information are high. In many organisations, mobile devices are issued to the users only on a need-to-use basis. Still, it is a matter of concern. “Information from the mobile device is transmitted through a wireless network, therefore the risk of unauthorised access is high. I agree that encryption is not widely-used, and even if used it is prone to hacking. Another side-effect of encryption is that it degrades the performance of mobile devices. There is a need to have a standard encryption,” comments G Radhakrishna Pillai, Head of IT at Ranbaxy.

“At Patni, for ensuring data protection, we try not to store critical information on mobile devices. However, since this is not always possible, the next step is encryption of all the data stored in the device,” explains Soni. He says that all critical data is kept on the servers, and that no downloads are allowed. They use dual-factor authentication which prevents access to any PDA/laptop by a stranger. Also, every mobile device has a lock, so if the device gets lost its data cannot be accessed.

“We encrypt all the data on mobiledevices,and periodically conduct training and internal awareness programmes on encryption. “Zoeb Adenwala Chief, IT Pidilite. “ Information from the mobile device is transmitted through the wireless network, hence the risk of unauthorised access is high” RadhakrishnaPillai Head, IT Ranbaxy. Today, the security threat perceived by CIOs is the main obstacle to wireless devices. Pillai believes that authentication, privacy and authorisation are the critical issues in mobile devices, and that the technology needed to address them is still emerging

FLORIDA COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM COMPLEX MiamiHerald.com 01/29/2006 'Exterminator' eradicates jewelry
DAVIE
Apartments burglarized: About 6:25 p.m. Jan. 3, John McCabe returned to his apartment at Archstone Marina Bay in the 3900 block of State Road 84 and the door swung open when he put his key into the lock. Muddy shoe tracks led from the open rear sliding door, where the blinds were billowing, to the bedroom and the front door. Drawers were dumped, cabinets opened and two computer systems, including a 19-inch flat-screen monitor, a watch, a digital camera and a large gold Marlins charm were missing. The items were valued at $3,400.

• In William Gatrell's apartment in the same complex, burglars stole a Dell computer system, jewelry and cash between 6 a.m. and 5:40 p.m. Jan. 3. The loss was estimated at $4,700.

Laptop missing: At the Broward Education Communications Network (BECON), 6600 Nova Dr., a Dell Latitude laptop computer disappeared from a conference room between 10:30 p.m. Dec. 2 and 1 p.m. Dec. 23. A report, written Jan. 3, did not include the value of the laptop.

MAINE NARROW IDENTITY THEFT LAW BEING TARGETED FOR MAJOR EXPANSION Maine's narrow identity-theft law being targeted for major expansion
The Maine law designed to prevent identity theft would require every business to notify consumers of security breaches, under a proposal to greatly expand the law's scope.

The recommendation is part of a report that state regulators plan to submit to a legislative committee next week. It would extend the notification law to thousands of institutions, from banks, credit unions, insurance companies, investment advisers and loan brokers to retailers, restaurants, and even doctors and hospitals
.
The goal is to broaden a much narrower law that goes into effect Tuesday. That statute will require only information brokers, such as ChoicePoint, to notify people whose personal information may have been accessed by computer hackers or others. Examples of sensitive data include Social Security, credit-card and bank-account numbers.

The notification requirement will be triggered when: a broker realizes security systems have been bypassed; if it's determined that information has been misused or could be misused.

Notification is intended to give consumers time to secure their financial information, notify banks and credit card issuers, and try to prevent their credit reports from being adversely affected.

William N. Lund, director of the state's Office of Consumer Credit Regulation, said his department's proposal recognizes that identify theft can occur on either a large or small scale.

"From a consumer's perspective, it doesn't really matter if it was an information broker who lost their information or any other business," Lund said. "Consumers have grown to expect this type of notification."

Lund's office also is suggesting that lawmakers let consumers file suit if a business fails to investigate a possible breach or doesn't notify consumers. The proposal would limit damages to the actual harm suffered, rather than allowing people to sue for punitive awards.

Business groups worry that expanding the law could be a burden for small companies.

"One of our concerns was smaller members who might not be very sophisticated might be swept into this," said Jim McGregor, executive vice president of the Maine Merchants Association.

McGregor said his group is not opposed to the idea of notifying consumers about problems, but he's worried about the costs of allowing people to sue over security breaches.

Other business groups have noted that many businesses, such as restaurants and retailers, may have credit card information but no addresses for notifying people about problems. Lund said the proposal allows businesses in those cases to post a notice on a publicly accessible Web site and to notify the media when security has been compromised.

But "there's a potential for negative publicity that could hurt somebody" as a result of that method, McGregor said.

Lund said other states have adopted similar laws, so the step doesn't necessarily put Maine businesses at a disadvantage.

Lund's office estimates that more than 52 million people have potentially had personal information at peril in dozens of security breaches reported nationwide in just the last year. The first big one involved ChoicePoint, an information broker that had its security measures circumvented by identity thieves who gained access to information on 140,000 people and used it to set up bogus accounts.
On Thursday, the Federal Trade Commission fined ChoicePoint $10 million and the company agreed to pay consumers $5 million to settle charges that the security and record-handling procedures in the incident violated privacy rights.

Other cases included a lost data tape that contained information on more than a million customers of Bank of America.

In a separate report, Richard Thompson, Maine's chief information officer, is recommending that his office be allowed to develop a policy for notifying people about security problems in state computers, rather than extending the law to cover government.

Thompson said there have been "a couple" of security breaches involving state computers in which information on employees may been have accessed. Those employees were warned of the problem, Thompson said, and he would like to develop a policy that requires notification in future cases.

"We've actually been following that practice," he said, and the policy would simply establish methods for continuing that approach.
In Rhode Island this week, hackers claimed to have broken into the state's Web site and said they stole as many as 53,000 credit card numbers. Officials confirmed the break-in but said the number of financial records accessed was far fewer.

The site is run by New England Interactive, a private company that also runs government sites in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Maine officials said there are no reports of the state's Web site being hacked.

A spokesman for New England Interactive said the company does not notify people of break-ins but informs credit card companies, which are supposed to tell cardholders.

UK COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT icWales - Wrong rhyme - it's not Taffy who was a thief
A Tory MP claims he has definitive evidence Taffy was not a thief.

Monmouth MP David Davies has been asking a series of questions of Westminster Ministers, trying to establish how rife theft is within government departments.

Most have reported some thefts, with the most bizarre response coming from the Department for International Development, whose Minister Gareth Thomas listed the following items stolen during the past 12 months; one Compaq Ipac pocket PC, four lampposts, three bicycles, six laptop computers'.

Interestingly, Wales Office Minister Nick Ainger reported there had been no thefts from his department in the past year.

GEORGIA COMPUTER STOLEN FROM LIBRARY The Emory Wheel - Police Beat: Streakers strike at Woodruff library during finals: "A theft was reported at the Woodruff Residential Center on Dec. 20 at 6:20 p.m. A 24-year-old staff member reported that an Apple iMac was taken from the student lounge on the second floor. The security cable for the computer was also missing. The value of the stolen computer is unknown."

PENNSYLVANIA COMPUTER THIEVES CHARGED Siblings charged with computer theft - PittsburghLIVE.com
Two siblings have been charged with conspiring to steal four laptop computers from an Indiana County high school last year.

James L. Drury III, 20, of Bentley Drive, Blairsville, and Heather Ann Drury, 24, of New Alexandria RD 3, face multiple criminal charges in connection with a burglary and theft at Blairsville High School on June 5.

State police Trooper Jeffrey Witmer alleges that the Drurys, who are brother and sister, conspired with an unnamed male juvenile in the theft.

Witmer said the computers were valued at $1,600.

James Drury is charged with burglary, criminal conspiracy, theft and receiving stolen property. He was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Jennifer Rega, of Blairsville, and released on $10,000 bond. Heather Drury was charged via mail summons with receiving stolen property.