Tulsa, Oklahoma natural gas producer and distributor notifies more than 4,000 previous employees of security breach

An employee’s vehicle was left vulnerable to a burglary in which a Williams Companies, Inc. laptop was stolen, leaving the personal information of some 4,400 past and present employees of the company at risk for identity theft.

The laptop, which belonged to this 100-year-old natural gas producer and distributor’s company, contained names, birthdays, Social Security numbers and personal income information for employees dating back to the beginning of 2007 all the way up to current employees of the Oklahoma company.

At this time, it is not believed that the information has been accessed, as the information was reportedly password protected, but the company is still offering to pay for a 12 month membership to Experian Triple Advantage for all of its former and current employees to help them monitor their credit reports and bank accounts on a regular basis.

Williams Companies, Inc. reacted quickly to this incident, and authorities believe the laptop was stolen only for means of erasing the hard drive and reselling the computer.

All past and present employees have been notified of the incident, and authorities continue to investigate the burglary.