JPL Employees Call for Congressional Investigation into NASA Privacy Breach

Employees at Jet Propulsion Laboratory have called for an immediate Congressional investigation into NASA’s behavior in handling their personal data following the October 31 theft of a NASA laptop computer left unattended in a parked car in Washington DC.

The employees say that NASA waited two weeks before informing its employees that their personal information had been compromised and that they have been placed at risk for identity theft. The data on the stolen NASA laptop was not encrypted.

The employees have asked Congress to conduct an investigation into NASA’s “cavalier disregard” for protecting the personal information of NASA’s present and past employees and contractors.

More than 10,000 employee personal files have been placed at risk.

“It is outrageous that low risk employees have to needlessly reveal highly personal information. To add insult to injury, NASA recklessly allows repeated releases of this private information. This is a scandal and a shame,” says Dan Stormer, attorney for the employees. Mr. Stormer argued NASA v. Nelson in the United States Supreme Court.

In communications sent to Representatives Judy Chu, Adam Schiff, David Dreier and Howard Mckeon, the employees noted their past unsuccessful legal efforts to protect their privacy. They said, “One of the principal objections we raised in this legal matter was NASA’s inability to protect in a secure fashion any private information that they might gather about our private lives. Now, unfortunately, by virtue of the cavalier behavior of a NASA bureaucrat our argument has been proven. We therefore request that you institute a congressional investigation into NASA’s behavior in this unsavory affair.”

The official communication that was sent to the NASA present and former employees can be found at http://spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=42609.