Machine-Solution.com January 2008 Newsletter

Security Shredding and Storage News

Sensitive data for virtually all Louisiana college applicants and their parents over the past nine years were in a case lost by a Boston-based Iron Mountain during a move, the Boston Globe reported in October.

The Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance was advised to not say how many records were involved and the media format in which they were stored. The state Attorney General’s Office is investigating the loss.

The lost case held backup data for every Louisiana application for federal student aid from 1998 through Sept. 13 of this year. It also involved anyone who had a college savings account under the START Saving Program or who applied for the TOPS scholarship program in those years.

The data included Social Security numbers for applicants and their parents; the bank account information for START account holders also was involved.

The case was lost Sept. 19 when an Iron Mountain driver failed to follow company procedures when loading it onto his vehicle. The driver has since been fired, a company spokeswoman said.