Consumerist Data Theft Story #30451: AIG Server Stolen

The last 930,000 people in the world who have yet to have their identities stolen can rest easy. Congratulations, guys! You’ve finally joined the status quo!

This time it’s AIG, the world leader in property, casualty and life insurance, who’ve managed to lose the personal data of their customers. But in this case, it appears to be a targeted theft: a burglar broke into an AIG office and carted away only an AIG file server containing sensitive customer information.

You know, it’s one thing when some fatigued consultant accidentally leaves his laptop in a McDonald’s restroom. We can plausibly believe that, in these cases, the laptop was the theft-of-opportunity; our unprotected identities digitally reclining on the laptop drive the ancillary bonus for a tech-savvy thief.

But we cease to be credulous when entire servers storing our personal information are being carted off in wheelbarrows. How many more of these stories do we have to report before companies stop acting like complete and total fucktards about securing the data we trust to them?

As a post script, per usual, the theft happened on March 31st, but of course customers are only being told about the security breach now.

AIG Customers At Risk After File Server Is Stolen [Consumer Affairs]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.