Oopsie: Drunk Man Loses Citywide USB Flash Drives!

Imagine losing the private data of half a million people because you lose USB sticks in a drunken stupor. That really happened.

A pint after a long day at work can be incredibly satisfying, but not at the expense of the privacy of nearly half a million residents! That happened this week, after a Japanese employee did just that.

USB sticks debacle

The 40-year-old employee had several USB sticks containing the data of the inhabitants of the entire city of Amagasaki. In addition to names, date of birth and addresses, the sticks also contained information about their taxes, bank accounts and any information about benefits.

In short, extremely sensitive information that should not end up on the street. But that literally happened. The man drove to Osaka where he went for a drink with some colleagues. He woke up on Wednesday morning. On the street, without a bag and undoubtedly with a huge hangover.

Fortunately, according to the local police, his bag was found quite quickly near an apartment building. The drunkard must have tied his shoelaces there for a while, after which he forgot his bag.

It looks like the USB sticks weren’t actually stolen. In addition, it does not appear as if anyone has attempted to view the data, according to the city. In addition to a password on the sticks, the memory sticks also use encryption. No doubt someone could have cracked this, but it doesn’t seem to have happened.

Lucky for the drunk and nearly half a million inhabitants of Amagasaki, shall we say. Although it is not yet clear whether the booze barge will be allowed to keep its job…