A thief walked into the headquarters of Chicage Public Schools (CPS) on Friday, April 6 and grabbed two laptops containing the names and social security numbers of 40,000 teachers.

The CPS has released an image of the suspect captured by CCTV and is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the thief or recovery of the data.

The laptops belonged to an accountancy firm and its subcontractor, who were auditing pension contributions made by teachers between 2003 and 2006. The data does not include date of birth or addresses, which is something, we suppose.

In a press statement today, the CPS apologized for this "breach of security, and we are working around the clock to get the information back in safe hands as quickly as possible". It is offering to pay for one year of credit protection for any employee or former employee affected by the theft. ®