A USB memory stick containing the details of around 4,000 people has been lost by Leicester City Council.
The loss, which was confirmed to a local paper, has been reported to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) who have started their own investigation into the breach. The 4000 people in question were signed up to a service called LeicesterCare, which supports vulnerable city residents. The details contained medical details and 2000 keysafe codes that allowed carers into residents homes.
A spokesperson for the council confirmed the data was encrypted. However the stick was supposed to be stored in the council offices in a locked safe each night.
The spokesperson states “We can confirm we are investigating the possible loss of a data device that contains personal details of around 4,000 LeicesterCare users. At this time we have no reason to believe this data has been removed deliberately”.
Two years ago the council suffered a similar data breach when a USB stick containing the details of a number of children went missing. At the time it was unclear if the stick was lost or stolen, however it was unencrypted. The stick went missing from a council run nursery and contained the names and addresses of the children.
