A laptop with travelers’ personal data reported stolen at SF airport

SAN FRANCISCO -- A laptop containing the sensitive personal information of 33,000 passengers seeking to enroll in an airport security pre-screening program has been reported stolen from San Francisco International Airport.

The Transportation Security Administration announced late Monday that the unencrypted computer was discovered to be missing more than a week ago, though the agency was not notified until Sunday.

The TSA has suspended new enrollments in the program, known as Clear, which allows passengers to pay to use special “fast lanes” to avoid long lines at airport security checkpoints. Participants must still undergo normal security screenings once they reach the checkpoint.

The missing laptop does not affect the more than 200,000 air travelers already enrolled in the program, according to the agency.

The laptop belonged to Verified Identity Pass Inc., which operates the program at 17 airports nationwide.

Verified Identity Pass must notify all affected applicants and show it has installed encryption on all its computers before it can restart enrollments, the agency said.

In a statement, the company said the information on the laptop, which was stolen from a locked room, “is secured by two levels of password protection.”

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 A laptop with travelers’ personal data reported stolen at SF airport 
A Clear worker protests the photographer at San Francisco International Airport on Tuesday, Aug. 5. A laptop containing the sensitive personal information of 33,000 applicants to an airport security pre-screening program, Clear, has been reported stolen from San Francisco International Airport. (AP)

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