Watch Them Move Now...

I try to save being cynical for after I finished my morning coffee. Reuters is making that a little difficult today with this article.

Seems Bank of America lost computer tapes with credit card account records--including social security numbers--of 1.2 million government employees. Actually, BofA and the Senate Rules Committee suspect that a baggage handler stole the data tapes as they were being shipped by plane to a storage facility. Among the account holders whose information is potentially compromised are about 900,000 Department of Defense workers and dozens of senators, as well as other government employees. Reading just that part of the article, my inner cynic said, "Yeah. Let's see them move real quickly now on identity theft and airport baggage security now that their personal info has gone missing," while other inner parts of me were saying, "C'mon. At least finish your Cheerios before you start thinking that poorly of people." For the record, I tried to listen to the non-cynical parts. Then I came to the following two excerpts:

Quoted from Senator Charles Schumer, D-NY: "Whether it is identity theft, terrorism or other theft, in this new and complicated world baggage handlers should have background checks and more care should be taken for who is hired for these increasingly sensitive positions."

and

"Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, said he hoped the fact that Senate information was among the lost data would spur Congress to pay attention to a 'rapid erosion of privacy rights' due to faulty data security."

Apparently, my inner cynic called this one. Sorry, Senator Leahy, but I hoped that the fact that faulty data security and sticky-fingered baggage handlers are affecting a lot of people BESIDES Senators would spur congress to pay attention to a rapid erosion of privacy rights. We should not have to wait until something happens directly to our congresspeople for them to see that there is a problem.

Here's to hoping that the day gets better, faith-in-humanity-wise.