Firm will settle with state over data loss

Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. will pay $25,000 to settle a probe of how one of its laptop computers went missing with the personal data of thousands of Massachusetts residents, Secretary of State William F. Galvin said yesterday.

Galvin said the payment may be the first ever over a missing portable computer, a problem that has grown with the spread of the devices at many organizations including the US Veterans Administration and Fidelity Investments.

Ameriprise of Minneapolis also will pay for an independent review of its procedures. The case dates to the 2005 theft of an Ameriprise laptop containing data on roughly 70,000 financial advisers and 130,000 customers.

Ameriprise spokesman Steven Connolly said that the data should have been encrypted and that an employee was fired over the violation of company policy. He said the machine was recovered and there have been no reports of harm. Galvin's action is the only settlement with any regulator to date, Connolly said.

After working with Galvin's office, "We are pleased to resolve this matter," he said.

Galvin said his office has posted a link on its website to a federal service to help consumers check their credit reports. An investigator for Galvin's office said it also was investigating the case involving Fidelity, where a laptop went missing in March with personal data on 196,000 customers related to retirement accounts of Hewlett-Packard Co.

Fidelity sent notifications to individuals affected, and a spokesman said yesterday it isn't aware any were harmed as a result. It has increased use of encryption technologies and taken other steps to increase security, he said.

In March, state Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly also had said his office was reviewing the matter. Yesterday, a spokeswoman for Reilly noted changes the company has made to its security policies.

Ross Kerber can be reached at kerber@globe.com.