Willis Says Misuse Of Lost Data Unlikely

Insurance brokerage Willis Group Holdings said the company along with police is investigating the loss of an unspecified amount of computer data affecting a number of clients and employees, but it is unlikely the data would be misused.

In a statement that was limited in detail, Willis said it is looking into the loss of data on backup tapes that occurred recently while in transit to a storage facility. Willis said the tapes “were inadvertently misplaced.”

The brokerage is working with law enforcement to recover the tapes and an investigation is continuing.

Citing the involvement of law enforcement, a spokesman for the firm said he could not say where the tapes were lost or how many individuals could be affected. He did say the loss was not global and it affected a small portion of clients and Willis associates.

“We have no reason at this stage to believe that the tapes were specifically targeted, or that any information has been accessed or used improperly,” Willis said.

“This was an isolated event, and we believe the likelihood of any potential criminal misuse of the data, while difficult to predict with absolute certainty, is minimal. Further, our IT systems were not compromised by this incident, and the original data remains in our possession,” the company said.

Willis said it is “taking all the necessary steps to inform” the individuals this affects. Those affected have been offered identity theft protection “where appropriate.”

“There is no evidence to date that the data has been misused in any way, and the likelihood of that occurring is, we believe, very unlikely,” Willis said.