The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Controls Over Its Weapons, Laptop Computers, and Other Sensitive Property

Audit Report 08-29
September 2008
Office of the Inspector General

Appendix IV
Circumstances of Laptop Computer Losses
Reported to Internal Affairs
NO. LOSS DATE FIELD OFFICE DESCRIPTION OF LOSS AND ANY
DISCIPLINARY ACTION TAKEN		 CONTENTS OF LAPTOP ACCORDING TO INVESTIGATIVE REPORT
169 9/26/2002 ATF headquarters Stolen from hotel room. Travel Vouchers, Contractor lists, Physical security surveys.
2 10/16/2002 New York Stolen from room at the Cardozo School of Law CND70
3 12/13/2002 Miami Stolen from back seat of private vehicle parked at residence.
Letter of Reprimand.		 CND
4 12/17/2002 San Francisco Stolen from briefcase in back seat of private vehicle parked at residence.
Letter of Reprimand.		 CND
5 1/7/2003 Fayetteville Special Agent left computer on top of ATF vehicle as he drove away from his residence.
Letter of Reprimand.		 CND
6 1/27/2003 San Francisco Stolen from ATF vehicle parked in
San Francisco Police Department parking deck.		 CND
7 2/11/2003 St. Paul Stolen from hotel conference room during training course.
Memorandum of Clearance.		 CND
8 3/16/2003 ATF headquarters Stolen from employee’s residence. CND
9 8/24/2003 Computer Forensics Branch Agent transferred and took property with him. Surveillance camera recorded employee taking equipment. Manager could not ensure employee took correct property. Manager notified Internal Affairs. Employee ordered to do an inventory. CND
10 1/28/2004 Tampa Stolen from rental vehicle parked at a restaurant. CND
11 2/3/2004 Explosives Technology Branch, Atlanta Stolen from private vehicle parked at hotel parking lot. CND
12 6/21/2004 Savannah Stolen from ATF vehicle parked at residence. CND
13 9/16/2004 Nashville Stolen from Special Agent’s ATF vehicle.
Pending.		 CND
14 10/12/2004 Boston Stolen from Special Agent’s ATF vehicle. CND
15 11/28/2004 Boston Stolen from Special Agent’s private vehicle CND
16 3/27/2005 Boston Stolen from Special Agent’s ATF vehicle parked at residence. CND
17 6/25/2005 Washington Stolen from Special Agent’s workstation. CND
18 9/10/2005 Los Angeles Contractor’s laptop stolen from private vehicle parked at residence. CND
19 9/14/2005 Detroit Item unaccounted for during inventory, Item located at residence. CND
20 9/14/2005 Detroit Item unaccounted for during inventory. Agent had no recollection of having item. CND
21 9/14/2005 Detroit Item unaccounted for during inventory. Item assigned to another agent. CND
22 1/9/2006 San Francisco Stolen from ATF vehicle parked in restaurant parking lot. CND
23 2/24/2006 Boston Stolen from private vehicle parked at firearm licensee. CND
24 2/26/2006 Houston Stolen from Tactical Operations Office.
The next four laptop computers were also stolen in this same incident.		 CND
25 2/26/2006 Houston Stolen from Tactical Operations Office. CND
26 2/26/2006 Houston Stolen from Tactical Operations Office. CND
27 2/26/2006 Houston Stolen from Tactical Operations Office. CND
28 2/26/2006 Houston Stolen from Tactical Operations Office. CND
29 3/7/2006 Nashville Stolen from ATF vehicle parked at hotel parking lot. The next laptop computer was also stolen in this same incident. Non-network, configured for vehicle tracking.
30 3/7/2006 Nashville Stolen from ATF vehicle parked at hotel parking lot. Non-network, configured for vehicle tracking.
31 3/31/2006 Seattle Stolen from undercover storefront operation. Determined value of items purchased and sold.
32 4/2/2006 Los Angeles Stolen from private vehicle parked overnight at residence. Locked inside trunk. Agent said it contained sensitive explosives licensee information.
33 4/13/2006 Office of Science and Technology Stolen from hotel room. CND
34 9/15/2006 Philadelphia Stolen from Division office, recovered 9/22/2006. The next 5 laptop computers were also stolen in this same incident. CND
35 9/15/2006 Philadelphia Stolen from Division office, recovered 9/22/2006. CND
36 9/15/2006 Philadelphia Stolen from Division office, recovered 9/22/2006. CND
37 9/15/2006 Philadelphia Stolen from Division office, recovered 9/22/2006. CND
38 9/15/2006 Philadelphia Stolen from Division office, recovered 9/22/2006. CND
39 9/15/2006 Philadelphia Stolen from Division office, recovered 9/22/2006. CND
40 9/28/2006 Detroit Stolen from ATF vehicle. Rear window was broken. Personal and work-related information.
41 10/12/2006 Fort Lauderdale Stolen from ATF vehicle parked at residence. Hard drive was 2-weeks old. No PII. Password protected.
42 11/1/2006 Office of Science and Technology Stolen from office credenza. Employee evaluations.
43 2/27/2007 Financial Investigations Service Division Stolen from rental vehicle in restaurant parking lot. E-mails, active case information, personal identifiers for ATF personnel, copies of administrative reports.
44 2/27/2007 Financial Investigations Service Division Stolen from rental vehicle in restaurant parking lot. E-mails, personal identifiers for ATF personnel; other personal identifiers, including social security numbers for targets or victims of ATF investigations; user passwords on an Excel spreadsheet.
45 3/14/2007 Charleston Stolen from Special Agent’s residence during burglary. CND
46 6/9/2007 Computer Forensics Branch Stolen under other circumstances that were not explained. Names and addresses of ATF computer forensic examiners.
47 6/23/2007 ATF headquarters Left on METRO train. Recovered and returned to employee on 6/25/2007. CND
48 6/24/2007 San Diego Stolen from hotel room during conference. Conference attendee list with phone numbers in computer bag. Encryption software was not installed.
49 7/16/2007 Harrisburg Stolen from under rear seat in private vehicle. Printouts with dates of birth and social security numbers for three firearm licensees in computer bag.
50 CND Computer Forensics Branch Lost at the Sony service department after ATF shipped it for repair. Computer wiped clean.
51 CND Boston Notation on inventory that item was transferred to Training and Professional Development, Arson Training Branch (ATB), 1851.1 on file. However, ATB does not have it. ATB says it could have been sent to ATF National Academy to be used in burn cells to demonstrate survivability of hard drives in a fire environment. CND
52 CND Boston Lost during shipping during agency computer refresh. The agent opened an empty box. The next laptop computer was also lost in this same incident. CND
53 CND Boston Lost during shipping during agency computer refresh. The agent opened an empty box. CND
Source: ATF Internal Affairs investigative reports

 

Footnotes

  1. Although this laptop computer was stolen September 26, 2002, we included it in our audit period beginning October 1, 2002.

  2. ATF could not determine (CND) the contents of the laptop computer.

 

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