Laptops Stolen

Two laptop computers belonging to the ABF were stolen during the Gold Coast Congress. One of the computers had credit card details, from the Summer Festival of Bridge in January, protected by passwords. The machine has a Novell password and a password is needed to access the database with the credit card details. The ABF's banker was notified immediately and has now confirmed in writing their initial advice.

"In relation to the laptop which was recently stolen, I wish to advise that all necessary precautions have been taken to ensure the affected card numbers are not used fraudulently. I received a copy of the affected card numbers from Kieran after we discussed the situation over the phone, and have since passed on the information to the issuing banks to deal with at their discretion. They will be either monitoring the credit cards or stopping/blocking the cards and issuing a new card to the customers. This is all we are obligated to do, and as such there is nothing to be concerned about in terms of your business being held accountable in the future."

The purpose of this announcement is to allay any fears that may be held by players who provided credit card details. The security arrangements for equipment and information on ABF equipment will be reviewed. The computers were secured and the sensitive data password protected and not publicly accessible.

Keith McDonald
President
March 2, 2006

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