[Dataloss] Japanese embassy laptops stolen in Belgium

[Henry Brown]

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/world/20071115TDY02303.htm

Eleven laptop computers were stolen from the Japanese Embassy in central 
Brussels earlier this month, leading to fears that personal information 
on about 12,700 Japanese living in Belgium may have been exposed, the 
embassy said Wednesday.

The robbery is believed to have taken place early Nov. 3. Security 
guards alerted by an alarm found the lock broken on the seventh-floor 
entrance to the embassy in an office building.

Some of the stolen computers held electronic data on matters such as the 
expats' residence certification, overseas voting registration and 
passport information, according to the embassy.

The residence certification contains details such as a person's name, 
birthdate, permanent address in Japan, occupation, family information 
and passport number.