IF you’ve ever regretted a messy work night out it was probably nothing compared to one man in Japan who lost the data of 500,000 people.
The unnamed tech worker in his 40s was reportedly carrying a USB stick containing a large number of personal details on his night out.
1
The eventful evening was said to start with drinks at a restaurant in Osaka, Japan earlier this week.
According to Japanese broadcaster NHK, after several hours of drinking, the man passed out on the street.
When he woke up he realized his bag and the important memory stick were missing.
That memory stick was said to contain private data including names, addresses, tax details, and bank account details of half a million people.
You may wonder why one man had all that data on a memory stick.
He’s said to work for a company that provides benefits.
Fortunately, the USB is reportedly encrypted and locked.
That means it would take some serious hacking to access the data.
Most read in Tech
The city’s mayor still had to apologize for the error.
An Amagasaki city official told the press: “We deeply regret that we have profoundly harmed the public’s trust in the administration of the city.”
Experts don’t think anyone has tried to access the data so far.
The case is an example of why it’s so important to change your passwords frequently and monitor your financial accounts for any odd behavior.
