Computer containing airline ticketing info stolen

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January 14, 2004 (Computerworld) -- Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC), an airline-owned financial transaction processing company, said yesterday that two computers, one of which contained airline ticketing data, have been stolen.
It wasn't clear where the computers were taken from, or when, and the Arlington, Va.-based company offered few details about the theft.
In a statement, ARC said that its information so far indicates that the theft of the computers, as well as one computer monitor and a projector, were simple property thefts. "To date, no misuse of data has been reported to ARC," the company said.
ARC said it "has made the appropriate notifications commensurate with the theft and that, as a result, the necessary steps are being taken."
Although the stolen equipment was used in important support functions, it wasn't fundamental to the company's operations, ARC said.
The company said it isn't in a position to provide further details about the theft because of an ongoing investigation by law enforcement officials. ARC spokesman Allan Muten confirmed that the company wouldn't comment about the incident beyond the statement posted on its Web site.
Jason Schechter, a spokesman for UAL Corp.'s United Air Lines Inc., said that his airline had data on the computer. "We have worked with ARC and the credit card companies to ensure we have all the information necessary to convey to our customers," he said. "We've also given our employees information about what happened ... and what to tell our customers."
Schechter said United hasn't gotten any complaints from customers about the misuse of any personal information that might have been on the stolen computer.
Northwest Airlines Inc. also had customer data on the stolen computer, according to company spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch. Like United, Northwest hasn't received any information that customers' personal data has been misused.
Delta Air Lines Inc. and AMR Corp's American Airlines Inc. also confirmed that the stolen computer contained some of their customer data.
Reuters contributed to this report.

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