Japan nuclear agency worker loses phone with confidential data in China

A Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) employee lost a work phone containing confidential contact information of nuclear security staff during a personal trip to Shanghai, China, on November 3rd. The loss was discovered three days later, and the phone has not been recovered. The NRA reported the incident to the Personal Information Protection Commission and warned employees against taking work phones abroad. The department affected deals with protecting nuclear materials from theft and terrorism. This incident follows several other recent security lapses within Japan's nuclear sector, including mishandling of documents at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant and data fabrication by Chubu Electric Power, which led to a suspension of the NRA's review for restarting its reactors. The NRA was formed after the Fukushima disaster to oversee nuclear safety as Japan attempts to revive its atomic energy program.

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories