Personal data lost by firm

CARSON CITY -- A private firm working for the Nevada Department of Public Safety has lost personal information provided by 109 individuals seeking employment with the agency, a spokesman said Tuesday.

The 109 applicants, who were seeking employment in a variety of positions within the department, are from all over Nevada and out of state, said agency spokesman Dan Burns. All are being notified that their personal data, including Social Security numbers, addresses and background check information, has been lost.

The information was stored on a portable computer memory device called a thumb drive that was owned by an employee of Crown, Stanley and Silverman. The company was performing background checks on the applicants for the department.

The loss of the device was reported immediately by the company, Burns said.

The department has ordered the company to stop all of its background checks and to return all files belonging to the state. The agency has suspended the use of outside vendors for background checks while a review of processes and procedures is conducted.

There is no indication yet that the lost data has been used for any unlawful purpose.