Burglary at Milwaukee tax & accounting firm exposes 600
Posted by Evan Francen at 2/27/2008 4:30 PM and is filed under Kurt Bischoff Accounting,Stolen Computer 
Technorati Tag: Security Breach
Date Reported:
2/22/08
Organization:
Kurt Bischoff Tax & Accounting, Inc.
Contractor/Consultant/Branch:
None
Victims:
Clients
Number Affected:
~600
Types of Data:
Names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and bank account numbers.
Breach Description:
The office of Kurt Bischoff Tax & Accounting, Inc. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin was burglarized on February 21st, 2008 and a desktop computer was stolen. The computer contained sensitive personal information belonging to clients of the firm.
Reference URL:
Wisconsin Office of Privacy Protection notification
Report Credit:
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection
Response:
From the online source cited above:
Approximately 600 individuals had their information compromised.
The office of Kurt Bischoff Tax & Accounting, Inc. was burglarized on February 21, 2008 and had a desktop computer stolen.
The computer had personally identifiable information on it, such as names, addresses, birthdates, social security numbers, and bank account numbers.
There is a police report on file.
If you are one of those affected, place a fraud alert on your credit report, as explained in our fact sheet on the data breach page titled, “Data Breach: What to Do if it Happens to You,” which also provides additional steps to take to protect yourself.
[Evan] "Data Breach: What to Do if it Happens to You" is a good read offering useful tips.
Commentary:
You may be asking why confidential customer (client) records were on a desktop computer. You may also be asking yourself why the records were not encrypted. Obviously accountants work with very sensitive information that requires added levels of protection.
Last year I was talking with my neighbor, who is a partner in an accountant firm, about how his firm protects client information. I was surprised by how little they do and how freely confidential information flowed into, within, and out of his company. I found it ironic that his company often conducted SAS 70 (not that SAS 70 attests to any real level of security) audits too.
The notification was lightning fast. The breach occurred on 2/21 and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection was informed on 2/22.
Past Breaches:
Unknown
Date Reported: 2/22/08
Organization:
Kurt Bischoff Tax & Accounting, Inc.
Contractor/Consultant/Branch:
None
Victims:
Clients
Number Affected:
~600
Types of Data:
Names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and bank account numbers.
Breach Description:
The office of Kurt Bischoff Tax & Accounting, Inc. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin was burglarized on February 21st, 2008 and a desktop computer was stolen. The computer contained sensitive personal information belonging to clients of the firm.
Reference URL:
Wisconsin Office of Privacy Protection notification
Report Credit:
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection
Response:
From the online source cited above:
Approximately 600 individuals had their information compromised.
The office of Kurt Bischoff Tax & Accounting, Inc. was burglarized on February 21, 2008 and had a desktop computer stolen.
The computer had personally identifiable information on it, such as names, addresses, birthdates, social security numbers, and bank account numbers.
There is a police report on file.
If you are one of those affected, place a fraud alert on your credit report, as explained in our fact sheet on the data breach page titled, “Data Breach: What to Do if it Happens to You,” which also provides additional steps to take to protect yourself.
[Evan] "Data Breach: What to Do if it Happens to You" is a good read offering useful tips.
Commentary:
You may be asking why confidential customer (client) records were on a desktop computer. You may also be asking yourself why the records were not encrypted. Obviously accountants work with very sensitive information that requires added levels of protection.
Last year I was talking with my neighbor, who is a partner in an accountant firm, about how his firm protects client information. I was surprised by how little they do and how freely confidential information flowed into, within, and out of his company. I found it ironic that his company often conducted SAS 70 (not that SAS 70 attests to any real level of security) audits too.
The notification was lightning fast. The breach occurred on 2/21 and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection was informed on 2/22.
Past Breaches:
Unknown
Comments