BP Employee Loses Laptop Containing 13,000 Oil Spill Claimants' Personal Data

NEW ORLEANS -- BP says one of its employees lost a laptop containing personal data belonging to thousands of residents who filed claims for compensation after the Gulf oil spill.

The oil giant disclosed the potential data security breach to The Associated Press on Tuesday. But BP spokesman Curtis Thomas says the company doesn't have any evidence that claimants' personal information has been misused.

Thomas said the company mailed out letters Monday to roughly 13,000 people, notifying them that their data was in the computer.

The data belonged to individuals who filed claims with BP before the Gulf Coast Claims Facility took over the processing of claims in August. BP paid roughly $400 million in claims before the switch.

As of Tuesday, it had paid roughly $3.6 billion to 172,539 claimants.

Comments

[imusintheevening]

06:46 PM on 03/31/2011

If BP were told that all claimants will receive an additional 15% due to this delay, I'll bet the laptop will miraculously be found.

[Telemachus]

02:47 PM on 03/31/2011

That'll teach those peasants to file claims, won't it?

[HarrietLittle]

04:37 PM on 03/30/2011

I wonder if BP had even started processing them.

[crparke]

11:46 AM on 03/30/2011

Apparently BP can't afford an external hard drive. Seriously they never thought to do a data backup?

[Gaylord P Farqua]

11:28 AM on 03/30/2011

Not so surprising similar to the model for delay, deny, disapprove follwed by "we lost the paperwork" in the insurance industry handbook for customer disservice.

[Edy Williams]

09:02 AM on 03/30/2011

dONT YOU WISH WE MAY SEE SOME "t.l.c"". BEING GIVEN TO SWEET BIG OL;"ANNIE" ,PETTED, FED,?

[Captain Crunch]

08:54 AM on 03/30/2011

I have a feeling more laptops will be lost.

[Edy Williams]

09:07 AM on 03/30/2011

wOULDNT IT BE FAIR IF B.P.,LOSING ALL THE OIL HERE, WOULD AT LEAST HELP lOWER SOME GAS TANK CHARGES,FROM THEIR SETTLEMENTS. iT IS NOW LIKE $4.00.SEEMS US AMERICANS ARE FURTHER VICTUMS OF THEM!

[madisonhack]

08:13 AM on 03/30/2011

My dog ate my homework........give me a break.

[stape45]

06:03 AM on 03/30/2011

Who's buying this?

[Egalitare]

04:37 AM on 03/30/2011

How convenient

[kwaut lizard]

02:07 AM on 03/30/2011

This would explain why the respective law firms salary was recently doubled by BP. Typical!

[BobEvansZombie]

01:21 AM on 03/30/2011

Yeah, sure. *click click* Oh, my goodness. My laptop is missing!

[Mark Morlock]

12:18 AM on 03/30/2011

How suspiciously convenient. Hope that thing doesn't wind up in the wrong hands (as if it were in the right ones in the first place).

[Red45]

12:14 AM on 03/30/2011

Goodness gracious, what a surprise. NOT

[MagicalPossibilities]

12:01 AM on 03/30/2011

Well, isn't that convenient?