TOKYO (TR) — Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) is under scrutiny after revealing that its employees lost 10 government-issued smartphones in a single year, including a device containing highly classified information that vanished during a personal trip to China, reports TV Asahi (May 9).
The security lapse first made headlines in January when it was reported that an NRA official lost a work smartphone while visiting China on a private trip last November. The missing device reportedly contained the non-public names and contact information of personnel working in the agency’s highly classified nuclear security division.
While a recent information disclosure request by Bengo4.com News initially uncovered six cases of lost phones over the past year, a direct inquiry by a news program revealed the actual number is significantly higher.
An NRA representative admitted to the alarming frequency of the losses. “There were 10 lost device incidents last year, and two of them have still not been found,” the spokesperson said.
The circumstances surrounding the missing devices paint a picture of lax security protocols among government bureaucrats. The smartphones were misplaced in a variety of locations, including near hotels during business trips and while employees were making their way home from restaurants and bars. In some instances, staff members did not even realize their phones were missing for several days.
The NRA currently issues between 500 and 600 smartphones to its staff. The devices are intended to serve as a critical emergency communication lifeline in the event of a major disaster.
Following the embarrassing revelations, the agency is scrambling to tighten its protocols.
“We will ensure that employees recognize these disaster response phones are vital tools and will strictly enforce their management,” an NRA official stated.
The agency claims that, as of now, no leaks or malicious use of the sensitive nuclear security information have been confirmed.
