A potential data breach may affect thousands of state retirees. As Arizona Public Radio’s Justin Regan reports, two unencrypted CDs containing sensitive information were sent through the mail and never reached their destination.
The missing CDs hold the first and last names and social security numbers of about 40,000 people. The discs were sent to an insurance company in Kansas City. David Cannella is the Communication Manager for the Arizona State Retirement System.
“We don’t believe that the information was stolen or has been accessed by any unauthorized persons. At this time we believe it’s been lost,” Cannella said.
The agency has notified the retirees whose information was contained on the discs of the loss and is in the process of updating its methods for transferring sensitive data. The organization will also pay for a year of identity theft protection for those affected. The retirement system provides pensions, insurance and other services to more than five hundred thousand state employees including public school, university and municipal government workers.
