Juvenile Crime Victims' Electronic Records Mislaid
A Metro auditor misplaced a portable computer storage drive containing the names of more than 500 juvenile crime victims who receive government funds, potentially exposing their bank account numbers and balances.
The victims' addresses, phone numbers and Social Security numbers were not on the device, and banks have been alerted to look out for suspicious activity on the accounts. But most of the victims are still minors, and their names alone are sensitive information that isn't meant for public consumption, Davidson County Juvenile Court Clerk Vic Lineweaver said Monday.
Full story: The Tennessean, TN
The story goes on to say that employees waited over a month to report this data loss - even though the data was a treasure trove for identity theives. Cleary the lost Flash stick didn't contain any of their own data or it would have been reported more quickly.
What's interesting though is that in the end the agency banned the use of memory sticks. If a laptop goes missing are they going to ban laptops, or computers? I think this kind of ruling shows a lack of understanding of what really went wrong, and a misuse [call that lack of use] of technology.
What this agency really needs is to implement a data security policy relating to encryption combined with some employee training.