Bord Gáis customer details stolen

THOUSANDS of Bord Gáis customers have been advised to check their bank statements for illegal transactions after account numbers and other personal details of 75,000 people were contained in stolen laptops.

In a separate case, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has confirmed that one of a number of laptops stolen from its offices in Roscommon town last weekend contained sensitive information relating to a social worker’s case notes involving nine families.

In the Bord Gáis case, gardaí are investigating the theft of four laptops, one of which was not encrypted and held sensitive data, which happened on June 5 at the company’s offices in Dublin. The information on one laptop included bank account numbers, sorting codes and bank addresses, as well as the names and addresses of account holders.

Dave Bunworth, managing director of the Bord Gáis Energy, said the company held off making a public statement on the theft when it became apparent that the recovery of the laptops was unlikely. While there was a risk that the information might fall into criminal hands, he said he would not describe it as “huge”. A number of adjacent offices were also burgled at the same time as those of Bord Gáis.

“The gardaí and the Data Protection Commissioner were immediately informed and a full investigation is continuing. As the gardaí pursued enquiries, Bord Gáis Energy, on the basis of a risk assessment, did not publicise the incident as it may have hampered the investigation. Since the burglary Bord Gáis has worked closely with the gardaí, the Data Protection Commissioner and the Irish Banking Federation,” he said.

On Monday, the 75,000 Bord Gáis customers affected will receive official notice from the company by letter.

Meanwhile, the banks of those customers have already been informed by the company of the data theft and consequent risk, he said.

Bord Gáis would also be putting a special telephone helpline in place and a website advising customers on the best course of action. The information on the laptop related to people who recently switched over from the ESB in the company’s Big Switch campaign.

The Data Protection Commissioner’s office said the risk of the information being used by criminals was low, but it advised people to check bank statements.

This latest data scare comes just days after 15 laptops were stolen from HSE offices in Co Roscommon. Two of the laptops were not encrypted and one of those was used by senior social welfare staff. “The HSE deeply regrets any upset caused to the individuals affected by this robbery and appeals to those who stole the laptops to return them at any Garda station,” said the HSE in a statement.

“We will now endeavour to personally inform all of the families and individuals involved and offer a personal briefing tomorrow with local HSE staff. They will be given a letter advising them in relation to the theft of the laptop and the compromised information.”

Deputy Data Commissioner Gary Davis said his office had been assured by the HSE last September they had encrypted all laptops.

HSE chief executive Prof Brendan Drumm said: “Of course, I am annoyed when we lose a non-encrypted laptop because we have a policy that where there is any personal information, it should be encrypted. We need to determine why this didn’t happen in this case.”

Labour spokeswoman Liz McManus said the failure of Bord Gáis to secure the personal and confidential information of customers “is completely unacceptable”.