There have been so many security breaches involving the drugmaker over the past year that we are losing track. The latest involved an unencrypted USB flash drive that was recently stolen from a Pfizer employee’s car, along with an encrypted laptop and some personal items. The unencrypted flash drive contained info regarding approximately 13,000 Pfizer pfolks.

Unlike the previous breaches, Pfizer has this time decided, “after careful consideration,” that the latest incident doesn’t warrant free credit monitoring, based on the type of info exposed, and not exposed, according to a statement sent to us by Pfizer. Social security numbers and credit-card numbers, for instance, weren’t stored on the drive, although home addresses and telelphone numbers were.

Pfizer is now encrypting laptops and desktops worldwide and anticipate that project will be essentially completed by early in the fall, and offering only encrypted USB flash drives to employees. The drugmaker is also launching a mandatory privacy training course for all colleagues and contractors which emphasizes the proper protection of personal info.

Other Pfizer breaches include:

- the theft of a laptop computer in February that potentially exposed about 800 current and former employees and outside contractors to identity theft;

- last September, the company that provides cars to Pfizer employees, such as the sales reps, informed about 1,800 Pfizer spouses and domestic partners about a breach;

- last summer, Pfizer learned that, months earlier, a Pfizer employee removed copies of confidential info from a Pfizer computer system without the drugmaker’s knowledge or approval, comprising personal info of about 34,000 Pfizer current and former employees;

- last May, two laptops were stolen from a locked car but contained names, addresses, social security numbers and cell phone numbers of 950 health-care professionals who were providing or considering providing contract services for Pfizer;

- the most infamous breach occurred a year ago, when the spouse of a Pfizer employee installed file sharing software on a company laptop, compromising stored files containing names, social security numbers, and in some instances, addresses and bonus information of approximately 17,000 present and former Pfizer employees. This prompted a lawsuit.