FCW.com News - TSA suffers data loss; lawmakers watch closely: "The Transportation Security Administration is investigating the possible loss or theft of an external hard drive that contained the payroll data of about 100,000 current and former employees, including their Social Security numbers and bank account and routing information. The records affect individuals employed by TSA from January 2002 until August 2005, the agency of the Homeland Security Department said in a statement.

The hard drive was discovered missing from a controlled area at the TSA headquarters' Office of Human Capital in Arlington, Va.

'It is unclear at this stage whether the device is still within headquarters or was stolen,' said TSA Administrator Kip Hawley in a May 4 letter to affected employees.

Although TSA is responsible for security across the transportation sector, there were gaps at home, said Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

'As we debate DHS' role regarding cybersecurity, it appears the agency wasn't watching the threats at home,' he said.
TSA's data loss comes on the heels of a data security and notification bill that Davis introduced last week.

The Federal Agency Data Breach Protection Act directs the Office of Management and Budget to establish standards and practices for informing citizens of lost data and provides a clear definition of the type of sensitive information for which the law would apply. It also gives agency chief information officers authority to ensure employees comply with data security laws.
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