San Quentin loses data on 3,500 visitors SACRAMENTO

A flash memory drive containing names, birth dates and driver's license numbers of more than 3,500 people who either volunteered or visited San Quentin State Prison in a group tour has been lost, a prison official said Friday.

The flash drive was used to move the data each evening from the prison's administrative office near the parking lot to computers at the two entrance gates to the facility to allow guards to identify volunteers or groups, such as college students, that tour the prison, said Samuel Robinson, a San Quentin spokesman.

"What happens is that we have to transport that information out to individual areas where we let people through" onto prison grounds, he said. "It's our security measure to walk the flash drive."

The flash drive did not contain Social Security numbers, but the personal information on visitors was not encrypted, he said, adding that the prison has since decided to encrypt the data. Prison officials have not received any reports of identify theft tied to this incident, Robinson said.

Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, chairwoman of the Senate Public Safety Committee, criticized the Corrections Department for losing such sensitive information, and said she will call prisons secretary James Tilton to address the issue.

"This is how cavalier the Corrections Department can be with private information," she said. "There has been a breech of security."

The unit was discovered missing March 4 and a preliminary investigation shows that it was last used on March 3, Robinson said. It's yet unclear how the flash drive was lost or if it may be somewhere on prison grounds, he said. There is no indication that the flash drive was stolen for malicious reasons, such as identity theft, Robinson said.

Prison officials recently sent out letters alerting the individuals whose information is believed to be on the flash drive. The letter, dated March 20, recommends the recipients call a credit reporting agency and place a fraud alert on their credit files. It also recommends checking credit reports every three months for the next year.

Anyone who has visited San Quentin and is concerned their personal information could be on the flash drive may call Sgt. Rudy Luna, administrative assistant, at (415) 455-5000 or Laura Bowman, community partnership manager, at (415) 454-1460, extension 5400.