We doubt that an employee of the outside contractor conducting an audit at a West Virginia state agency would have left a briefcase stuffed with $50 bills in his car, where it could be stolen by a thief. But he did leave a laptop computer containing personal information about 535 state employees in the car, while it was parked in downtown Charleston. The laptop was stolen.

According to a state official, the computer contains payroll and benefits information about 535 employees of the state Insurance Commission and the Department of Health and Human Resources. The official added that the information probably cannot be accessed by anyone bent on using it for identity theft crimes, because it is password-protected.

Nevertheless, affected employees have been notified of the theft. If they are wise, they will take steps to avoid being victimized, just in case the thief is able to use their personal information to commit crimes.

During the past several years, dozens of similar cases involving loss or theft of personal information stored on computers have been reported. Time and time again, government agencies vow to take steps to avoid such problems. Yet such losses/thefts continue to occur with distressing frequency.

We can't blame state government for this one. We suppose state officials believe that an auditor, of all people, would understand the need to keep such information secure. Obviously, that was not the case.

Someone needs to be held accountable. We suggest a financial penalty for the auditor's employer. It ought to be stiff enough to reinforce the oft-repeated message that information security needs to be taken seriously by all involved.