Report: Flash drive holding info on Boston students lost

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- A flash drive holding information used to create identification badges for Boston public school students has reportedly been lost.

School officials tell the Boston Globe a vendor contracted by the school system to print the badges, Plastic Card Systems Inc., of Northborough, lost a flash drive that stored data on 21,000 students at the middle and high school levels. The drive contained the names, ages, grades, and ID numbers of the students.

While the cards include Boston Public Library card numbers, CharlieCard numbers, and a pass for the Boston Center for Youth and Families community centers, officials say none of the data on the flash drive can be used to get access to these features or student records.

Parents were notified of the flash drive being lost via letters and automated phone calls Monday.

Officials say the president of the Northborough-based company lost the flash drive Friday after picking it up at the school department's headquarters. They believe the drive fell out of his pocket somewhere between the school department and his office.

The company plans to redesign the badges before the start of the school year to prevent the lost data from being misused.

To read more: Boston.com

Cox Media Group