Posted 11/19/2005 05:33:00 PM by Douglas

The Boeing Co. warned its employees Friday that personal information of about 161,000 current and former Boeing employees was on a recently stolen company laptop computer.

So far, there's no evidence that any of the information has been used for identity theft, Boeing officials said.

"We're trying to do the right thing here by giving them information to protect themselves," said Boeing spokesman John Dern.

The laptop was stolen from "a non-Boeing site several days ago," according to a statement released by Rick Stephens, Boeing's senior vice president of human resources and administration.

The computer's hard drive contained Social Security numbers and other personal information for 161,000 employees and retirees.

The company said it is investigating the theft along with law enforcement. However, Dern would not say what police agency is conducting the investigation. Neither would he say where or when the theft occurred or if any of Boeing's Puget Sound-area employees were among those whose information was listed in the computer.

Dern said Boeing has no evidence that any of the information -- which included birthdays and banking information in some cases -- has been accessed or misused. No sensitive company information or supplier or customer data was stored on the computer.

"We are taking a number of steps to minimize any potential damage that could result from this violation of our security procedures," Stephens said in the written statement.

Boeing sent e-mails Friday to each of its 153,800 employees, including more than 61,000 Washington employees, announcing the theft. Stephens said the company also is directly notifying every individual whose name or other information was stored on the missing computer.

"We are helping them enroll in fraud alert programs at the three major credit reporting agencies and additionally will pay for their enrollment in ongoing credit monitoring services if they choose to sign up," Stephens said.

"We deeply regret that this happened and we are strongly committed to helping all affected employees avoid any adverse consequences."