(The following article by Samuel Bruchey was posted on the Newsday website on April 27.)
NEW YORK — The Long Island Rail Road said Wednesday that it has lost personal information — names, addresses, Social Security numbers and salary figures — of virtually everyone who has ever worked for the agency.
Iron Mountain, Inc., a Boston company employed by the railroad to warehouse and secure information at an undisclosed storage site in the metropolitan area, discovered the loss on April 6, LIRR and Iron Mountain officials said. During a routine delivery between LIRR headquarters in Jamaica, Queens, and the storage site, an Iron Mountain driver noticed that at least one unmarked box containing “computerized back-up data tapes” was missing, LIRR officials said. Iron Mountain officials said they believed it was not likely the box was stolen.
“Police agencies were immediately notified by the LIRR upon learning of the loss and the incident is currently under investigation by the New York City Police Department and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department,” the LIRR said in a statement Wednesday.
An NYPD official said she could not provide information about the investigation. An MTA police official did not return a call for comment.
On Monday, the railroad mailed a two-page letter signed by LIRR president James Dermody to approximately 17,000 current and former employees notifying them about the lost information. The LIRR has about 6,000 current employees.
“I express my sincere regret for any inconvenience for concern this incident may cause you,” the letter states. “Let me assure you that the LIRR is deeply committed to continuing to take the necessary steps to protect confidential employee information.”
According to the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Newsday, information on the tapes was formatted in a way “that is very difficult to access without highly specialized skills, specific software and sophisticated computer equipment.”
“For all of these reasons, the risk of any person accessing your personal information is unlikely,” the letter states.
“At this time, we have received no information indicating that the missing data tapes have been stolen,” it goes on to say.
Nevertheless, the LIRR has agreed to provide anyone at risk with a free one-year enrollment with a credit check and identity theft monitoring service.
The railroad has also set up a Web site — http://longislandrailroad.info.employeedatainfo/ — and hotline, 888-324-8488, for employees with questions about the missing data.
Some railroad employees Wednesday were still nervous about the lost information despite the LIRR’s assurances.
Joe Tamberella, 50, of Deer Park, who briefly held a maintenance job with the LIRR and received the letter this week, said he was concerned that his personal information is at risk.
“This situation can not be rectified by one year’s enrollment,” Tamberella said. “That’s not enough.”