A Japanese man lost a USB memory stick containing the personal data of an entire city’s residents, nearly half a million people, following a night out drinking.
The unnamed man had placed the memory stick in his bag when he went out with his colleagues in the city of Amagasaki, north-west of Osaka.
After spending several hours drinking in a local restaurant, he passed out on the street, local media reported.
When he regained consciousness, he realised that his bag containing the memory stick was missing.
According to Japanese broadcaster NHK, the man is an employee at a company tasked with providing benefits to tax-exempt households.
City officials said the USB stick contained the names, birth dates and addresses of all the city's residents.
It also had information on the residents’ tax details, bank account numbers and families receiving social security.
City officials however reassured the public saying that the data on the drive is encrypted and locked with a password.
They also said that there has been no sign that anyone has attempted to access the information so far.
Amagasaki city mayor and other officials apologised to its residents in a press conference saying, “we deeply regret that we have profoundly harmed the public's trust in the administration of the city".
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