Lost computer tape had personal info

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 6 (UPI) -- A computer technician lost a computer tape with personal data on thousands of legal clinic clients on the Boston subway, the Harvard Law School says.

The tape included information on 21,000 people who have consulted the school's legal services clinic during the past decade, The Boston Globe reported. Robert London, a spokesman for the law school, said that Social Security numbers of 8,000 people were on the tape and other identifying information on 13,000 people.

London said there has been no indication that any of the information has been misused. He said that even if a finder knew what the tape was, accessing it would require special equipment and the information is password-protected.

The law school has written all those whose information was on the tape, advising them to monitor their financial records for any sign of unauthorized activity. London said that the law school will pay for a year of credit monitoring for those whose Social Security numbers were on the tape.

In future, a courier service will move backup tapes, London said. The lost tape was one of six a technician had stashed in a backpack while he traveled from the clinic to the law school.