Update on the lost PC laptop with personal data

 

July 4^th, 2018

Second Harvest Japan

 

We discovered that a laptop containing information related to donor companies, volunteers, and individual supporters was lost. We are deeply sorry for the concern we have caused regarding the status of personal information. The laptop was recovered on July 3^rd when the police contacted us saying they had the laptop in their possession.

 

 

1. Background

At 9:20 am on Wednesday 27^th of June 2018, one of our staff, while traveling by train, left a work laptop on the rack above their seat. When they realized the laptop was on the train, they immediately contacted the JR Lost and Found Center. The next day we submitted a report for the lost laptop to the police.

 

On July 3^rd at 1:30PM the police informed us they had the laptop in their possession. They said the laptop was actually turned in on June 27^th in the evening after being discovered in the men’s toilet of JR Shinbashi Station.

 

2. Regarding the personal information stored on the laptop

Please note that no credit card information was stored on said laptop. The following is a list of details regarding the lost data

1. The names, addresses, email addresses, and phone and donation amounts for 1,415 donors (individuals and organizations) from January of 2016 to January of 2018. Note: In the majority of the cases there was only name and donation amount.
2. The names, addresses, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers of 370 Saitama prefecture based volunteers and 70 Adachi-ward based volunteers.

3. The list of food drive related sponsors and groups. Information includes name of the organization、name of representative, and email address.

4. Records of email conversations

The laptop was password protected, but the files were not password protected. However, there is no indication that the laptop was accessed between the time it was lost and turned into the police.

 

3. Actions we took

We contacted each person whose data was on the laptop to explain the situation.

 

4. Actions we will take

Today we held a staff meeting to stress the importance to not take personal data home to work on. We will further evaluate how we secure personal data in our office to determine if there are areas in which we can improve.

 

We are grateful that we live in a country where lost objects like this are eventually returned to their rightful owner. While I had assumed this would have been the conclusion last week, I felt responsible to you to inform you as soon as possible regarding the loss of the laptop and our actions to recover it and mitigate any further damage.

 

I deeply regret the concern our organization has caused regarding this situation. We will continue to work hard to restore your faith and trust in us

Sincerely,

 

Charles E. McJilton
CEO
charles@2hj.org
Cell: 090 6029 1823