DATE2022.02.24 #News

Loss of USB memory stick

Disclaimer: machine translated by DeepL which may contain errors.

We are writing to inform you that one USB memory stick used by a faculty member of the Graduate School has been found to be missing. We deeply apologize to all concerned for any inconvenience this situation may have caused.

1.On Tuesday, January 18, 2022, a faculty member of the Graduate School reported the loss of a USB memory stick containing personal information. The faculty member reported that he last checked the USB memory stick on December 16, 2021 (Thursday), and that he thought he had kept it in his office room after that, but on January 17, 2022 (Monday), he realized it was missing. A search has been conducted since then, but nothing has been found.

2. It was confirmed that the lost USB memory stick contained the following personal information and data related to the undergraduate entrance examination of the Faculty. The USB memory stick was not a password-protected type.

Personal information

Screenshots of the answer sheets of the 2021 Bachelor's Entrance Examination (for two students)

Recordings of online examinations (including faces and names) of the 2021 bachelor's entrance examinations (for two examinees).

Items related to the entrance examination

Drafts of questions from the 2022 Bachelor's Entrance Examination

Past bachelor's entrance exam questions

3.At this time, there is no evidence of unauthorized use of personal information or damage to third parties as a result of the loss of this USB memory stick.

The draft of the 2022 bachelor's entrance examination questions, which is the same as the data stored on the USB memory stick, has been destroyed. The 2022 Bachelor's Entrance Examination was not conducted because there were no applicants.

5. On February 4, 2022, we sent a written apology and explanation of the situation to the two examinees whose personal information may have been leaked.

6. In order to prevent a recurrence, the Graduate School of Science and the School of Science again made the following information known to the students and alerted them to the situation.

When storing data on a USB memory stick, etc., use one with a security function such as a password.

Set a password on the file itself containing personal information.

USB memory sticks should be stored in a lockable drawer.

We deeply apologize for the concern and inconvenience this incident has caused to all concerned.

In order to prevent such an incident from happening again, we will take the necessary measures to prevent a recurrence, such as ensuring that all of our faculty and staff are aware of the proper handling of personal information.

Masahiro Hoshino, Dean, Faculty of Science, The University of Tokyo
Shinji Tsuneyuki, Director, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, The University of Tokyo