Already this year , there have been three episodes – look here , here and here . This latest , however , is n’t due to a lapse in the drugmaker ’s systems , but can be traced to the company that provides cars to Pfizer employees , such as the sales reps . Last week , Wheels sent letters to about 1,800 Pfizer spouses and domestic partners saying there was a “ temporary encryption error in the security system of a web site Wheels Inc was using to collect data . ” As a result , personal info was “ briefly transmitted over the Internet in an unsecured manner . ” What kind of info ? Names , addresses , date of birth and driver ’s license numbers . The info was to have been used for background checks in order for spouses or domestic partners of Pfizer employees to be eligible to drive the leased company car , Stratford Dick , Wheels ’ marketing director told Pharmalot . But he insists Wheels took “ immediate steps to ensure that the data encryption was implemented appropriately . ” There was no breach of Wheels website , he adds , and there ’s no evidence to suggest that any of the unencrypted information was misused in any way . As a precautionary measure , the leasing company is offering two years of credit protection and credit restoration services free of charge . Whether that will please Pfizer employees remains to be seen . Meanwhile , Dick says a review of Wheelsâ€ ™ data - collection systems has been conducted to ensure that this situation does n’t occur again . ;