Arizona loses data on 40,000 children in disk theft.

From ComputerWorld:

Arizona's Department of Economic Security (DES) is notifying the families of about 40,000 children that their personal data may have been compromised following the theft of several hard drives from a commercial storage facility.

The information stored on the stolen disks included the names, addresses and phone numbers of families whose children were referred to the DES for early intervention services over the past several years. In the cases of families that had applied for and received services from the agency, their records also included Social Security numbers, DES spokeswoman Liz Barker Alvarez said.

The DES provides services such as financial assistance and food stamps programs as well as ones that are aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect. According to Alvarez, the data on the stolen disks was password-protected but not encrypted. She said the disks were stored in a leased storage unit at a local Extra Space Storage facility that was broken into on Oct. 14, and were part of a much broader array of items — including furniture and electronics — that were taken from multiple units at the facility.