Census Bureau 2 top officials resign--672 computers lost in 5 yrs

[rainbow4321]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1155AP_Census_Director.html

The top two officials at the Census Bureau announced Tuesday that they are leaving the agency amid conflicts with their bosses in the Bush administration.

His announcement comes two months after the Commerce Department revealed that Census workers had lost a total of 672 computers since 2001. Nearly 250 of the computers contained some personal data, though there has been no evidence that any of that information has been misused. The Census Bureau is the government's main collector of information about Americans.

Including the Census laptops, the Commerce Department acknowledged losing a total of 1,138 computers - more than any other federal department

Hermann Habermann, the bureau's deputy director, announced that he will retire in January. Habermann said he, too, had management differences with Commerce officials, but he declined to elaborate.

[Kber]

1. What? Is this for real?

[longship]

2. There's something screwy going on here.

This sounds like it Commerce needs some Congressional oversight. Pronto!!

My question is this: Who is attempting to turn Dept of Commerce into their own, private commercial enterprise? 1,138 computers lost? Don't they mean 1,138 computers stolen and sold?

[rainbow4321]

3. Also lost at: FTC, NOAA, Ag Dept,Vet Dept, (other depts aren't responding)

Call me crazy, but what business do the non-responding depts have in not 'fessing up their lost computer stats and why the hell isn't more pressure put on them to cough up the info


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/21/AR2006092101602.html


This disclosure by the department came in response to a request by the House Committee on Government Reform, which this summer asked 17 federal departments to detail any loss of computers holding sensitive personal information.

Of the 10 departments that have responded, the losses at Commerce are "by far the most egregious," said David Marin, staff director for the committee. He added that the silence of the remaining seven departments could reflect their reluctance to reveal problems of similar magnitude.

In a private briefing yesterday for three members of Congress, Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez estimated that the disappearance of laptops from the Census Bureau could have compromised the personal information of about 6,200 households, Marin said. He said the department was still trying to determine the extent of the problem.

The Federal Trade Commission has lost two laptops with files containing people's financial account numbers, and the Department of Agriculture announced that one of its laptops had disappeared along with personal information on about 350 employees.

[lpbk2713]

4. That's it? They just walk away?

After losing all those computers and compromising all that privileged information?

Only in the rethuglican parallel universe.

I have to wonder what kind of a golden parachute they walked away with.

[SoCalDem]

5. They need search warrants for their employees' houses

You just don't "lose" that many computers

[AIJ Alom]

6. That would explain why there are so many laptop bargains on

Ebay. And I'm going to blame this on the vice-president. I vaguely recall Darth mentioning that the number of unemployed in this nation is incorrect because many people make fortunes on Ebay.