Japan’s Ministry of Finance announced this week that one of its employees lost documents containing the names and addresses of 187 people, including suspects in a drug smuggling case. The unnamed worker had a meeting at Yokohama’s customs office during the day on February 6 and then went for some drinks with customs officials. During a five-hour session, he reportedly drank nine glasses of beer before heading home on the train. He noticed his bag had gone when he arrived at Kinshicho Station.
The man works for the investigation division of the Customs Bureau of the Ministry of Finance. Inside his bag, there were nine administrative documents containing the names, addresses and case summaries of almost 200 people, in addition to a work laptop computer, which includes his own information as well as the personal information of his team members. The ministry apologized, describing the incident as “a serious violation of the public’s trust.” It has vowed to take strict action against the employee who lost the documents. Thus far, there has been no report of the information being used illegally.
A Lost Memory Stick
A similar incident occurred in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, two and a half years ago. An IT employee lost a USB flash drive with the personal information of close to half a million people. The man’s company, Biprogy, had been tasked with providing benefits to tax-exempt residents. He transferred the information of those residents, including tax details and bank account numbers, to a memory stick. That memory stick was then safely stored in his bag. Or so he thought.
After a solid drinking session at a nearby restaurant, the man passed out in the street. When he woke up, his bag with the USB inside had gone. Fortunately, the data on the drive was encrypted and locked with a password. The man filed a theft report and searched the area with the police. His luck was in. The bag was eventually found in the compound of an apartment building. The Ministry of Finance employee, will, no doubt, be hoping for a similar result.
