Information on Boeing workers, retirees stolen

A Boeing Co. laptop computer containing the names and Social Security numbers of 382,000 employees and retirees has been stolen, putting them at risk for identity theft and credit card fraud.

The theft, which was confirmed Tuesday, was the third such incident at Boeing in a little more than a year.

Files on the computer also contained home addresses, phone numbers and birth dates. Some of the files listed salary information.

“It’s very disturbing to us when things like this happen, and there are certain steps you can take right away ... but we realize we need to go above and beyond those,” said Tim Neale, a spokesman for the Chicago-based aerospace giant.

The laptop was stolen earlier this month when an employee left it unattended, Neale said. He declined to reveal where the theft occurred, but said no proprietary, customer or supplier data were on the computer.

The computer was turned off when it was stolen and a password is needed to log onto the desktop, Neale said Wednesday.

Boeing said it began contacting current and former employees Tuesday night.

The company will provide credit-monitoring services for three years for those affected, Neale said.

There is no evidence that any of the previous thefts have resulted in wrongdoing, he said.

A Boeing laptop containing information on roughly 160,000 current and former employees was stolen in November 2005. Then, in April, a laptop containing information on 3,600 employees and retirees was stolen.

Neale declined to say whether any disciplinary action had been taken against the employee involved in the most-recent theft. However, he acknowledged that company policy was violated in each of the incidents.