Data breach suspect jailed before being caught

A thousand names and social security numbers found under prison mattress

Don't know about you, but I'd have trouble sleeping tonight if I learned that my name and social security number were on a 64-page list of a thousand employees found stored -- of all places -- under a mattress.

Tell me that mattress was in a prison cell and I'm staring bug-eyed at the ceiling all night.

Such is the fate today of a thousand employees of the New Hampshire Department of Corrections, according to this story in the Manchester Union-Leader:

The security breach was discovered Friday in a routine search of the prisoner's room, according to prison spokesman Jeffrey J. Lyons. Officials are not aware of any employee's Social Security numbers being compromised because of the security breach, he said. A preliminary investigation determined the March 8, 2008, document came from the Lakes Region facility in Laconia, which shut down on June 30, Lyons said.

It was among documents to be shredded that were sent to the New Hampshire State Prison's warehouse, across the street from the facility. Lyons said the prison contracts with vendors to shred documents and investigators are trying to find out why documents intended to be destroyed were at the warehouse.

I know why: Because Murphy's Law rules even in prison.

(Thanks to the Open Security Foundation's DataLossDB for flagging this one.)

• data breach
• social security numbers