Hummingbird Loses Data On 1.3 Million

Toronto-based Hummingbird said it has lost computer equipment containing personal records on 1.3 million customers of Texas Guaranteed Student Loan, which had hired Hummingbird to develop a document management system. The student loan company had compiled the data, encrypted it, and stored on a password-protected device. The data were then decrypted, however, and stored it on hardware that did not require a password to access, and it was this hardware that Hummingbird lost. The company would not say what kind of hardware it was, but it said the odds that the data could be accessed are very small given the technology needed to access it. Texas Guaranteed Student Loan will notify each of the affected individuals by mail, informing them of the incident and giving them advice about how to monitor their credit histories to prevent identity fraud.

CNET, 1 June 2006