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BP loses laptop with private info on 13,000 people

30 March 2011 11:52 (UTC +04:00)

Baku - APA-Economics. A BP laptop computer containing the private information of about 13,000 individuals who filed oil-related claims after last year’s oil spill has been lost, according to the oil giant, CNN reported.

The laptop contained names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth and Social Security numbers for those who filed claims related to last year’s Deepwater Horizon spill.

"There is no evidence that the laptop or data was targeted or that anyone’s personal data has in fact been compromised or accessed in any way," BP spokesman Tom Mueller said in a written statement. "We have sent written notice to individuals impacted by this event to inform them about the loss of their personal data and to offer them free credit monitoring services to help protect their personal information."

The loss of the laptop, which can be remotely disabled, was reported to law enforcement authorities and BP security. Its loss came during business-related travel.

BP says they cannot release any information on where or when, the laptop computer was lost to prevent the investigation from being jeopardized.

Mueller told CNN that he could not comment on the employee involved in the loss of the laptop.

On April 20, 2010, an explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, off the Louisiana coast, killed 11 workers and spilled an estimated 205 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. It took 85 days to stop the oil from pouring into the sea.