Govt. personal data hard drive missing

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OTTAWA, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- A portable hard drive with information on 583,000 student loan recipients has been missing for about two months, Canadian officials say.

The drive disappeared from a Human Resources and Skill Development office in early November, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Officials said Friday there has been no evidence the information on the drive has been used illegitimately.

The information involves 583,000 people who borrowed from the Canada Student Loans program between 2000 and 2006. That includes names, social insurance numbers, birth dates and contact information.

The drive also contains contact information for 250 HRSD employees.

While the drive vanished from an office in Gatineau, Quebec, none of the information involves loan recipients from Quebec or from Nunavut or the Northwest Territories. People whose information has been compromised are being notified by letter.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has initiated an investigation.