Ohio Tax Agency Lost Sensitive Data on 50,000 People

The Regional Income Tax Agency of Ohio has disclosed that nearly two months ago it learned a backup DVD -- with personal information on thousands of taxpayers – had gone missing.

The disc with the information cannot be located, according to a Dec. 31, 2015 agency press release.

The disc contained copies of income tax documents submitted on or before June 2012. The DVD may have contained names, addresses, Social Security numbers and dates of birth.

Agency attorney Amy L. Arrighi on Jan. 4 said the government waited to announce the information  was missing until its investigation was complete.

“On November 10, 2015, while in the process of preparing a limited number of DVDs for secure destruction, RITA discovered that one DVD case was empty and the DVD missing,” the agency said in a statement. “DVDs used to back-up certain systems had been stored off-site at a third-party vendor’s secure facility, and were recalled by RITA to be securely destroyed. This action was being taken because RITA had moved to a new, more secure backup system which made the DVDs obsolete.”

"Nothing in our investigation indicates that the DVD was stolen, or that there has been any misuse of information," Arrighi said. "Our investigation to locate the missing DVD led us to the conclusion that it was most likely destroyed." 

The agency provides tax collection services for more than 250 municipalities across the state. It says the 50,000 people affected by the breach represent less than 2 percent of the tax accounts handled by the agency.