ING US Financial Services announced that on June 12, an ING agent who supports the District of Columbia’s 457 Deferred Compensation Plan (DCPlus) discovered that his home had been burglarized, and along with many of his personal possessions, his laptop computer for work had been stolen. The laptop, which was not encrypted and did not have password protection, was populated with personal data, including the Social Security numbers of approximately 13,000 DCPlus retirees and plan participants.
“This is an unfortunate situation, and we regret that it has occurred,” said Brian Comer, president, ING Life Insurance and Annuity Company. “While all of the evidence surrounding the burglary suggests that the laptop was stolen for its value as hardware, not for the purpose of misappropriating the data, we take this very seriously, and are taking significant steps to protect the DCPlus retirees and plan participants.”
ING is taking the following steps to protect plan participants:
- ING is mailing a comprehensive letter to notify all impacted people immediately;
- ING has arranged for 12-months of credit monitoring and identity fraud protection through Equifax. Enrollment instructions are available below, and are included in the letter to customers;
- ING will pay for the identity fraud protection product provided from Equifax; and
- ING is working with the District of Columbia Police Department and other appropriate authorities to fully investigate this matter. ING has also hired a private investigation firm to coordinate with the authorities to strengthen our investigation.
ING has a comprehensive review process underway to ensure that all laptops have the proper encryption and password protection.