Arkansas National Guard alerting soldiers of data loss

[security curmudgeon <jericho () attrition org>]

http://ktlo.com/wire/newsfri/00371_National_Guard_hard_drive_stolen_052208.php

Arkansas National Guard alerting soldiers of data loss

By: Press release

CAMP JOSEPH T. ROBINSON, Ark. - A team of Guardsmen searching data known 
to be contained on an external hard drive that was reported missing on 
February 22 has discovered approximately 35,000 current and former members 
of the Arkansas Army National Guard are affected by the loss.

While the unsecure drive was originally expected to affect only a portion 
of the Arkansas Guard's current members, a single file discovered in the 
data has now greatly increased the total numbers known to be affected. A 
copy of the Guard's personnel database which contains information on all 
Soldiers who have served in the Arkansas Army National Guard since 1991 
was found to be among the files known to be on the missing drive.

The Guard's Information Management personnel are continuing to work 
closely with the 39th Brigade to search the data in order to compile a 
complete list of all affected in order to begin the process of individual 
notification. The search is anticipated to continue through the week with 
notification letters produced over the weekend. Notification letters are 
expected to be ready for first class mail delivery early next week.

An Arkansas Guard Soldier reported the loss after conducting an exhaustive 
search to locate the drive when it was first realized as missing on 
February 15. The drive was a backup storage device used by the Soldier to 
archive work related information over the past six years.

The drive is said to include names, social security numbers and other 
personal information which potentially places the affected Soldiers at 
risk for identity theft. There remains no evidence to suggest the device 
was stolen or in the hands of anyone with bad intentions, however the 
Guard is continuing to make every effort to identify those affected in 
order to alert them of the potential data risk.

[..]
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