Japanese nuclear officer's phone missing in China (symbolic photo)
Digital Desk, Tokyo/Beijing. A major security crisis has arisen after an official of Japan's Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) lost his smartphone during a trip to China. This phone contained extremely sensitive information like names and contact details of employees related to nuclear security.
Phone went missing during security check
According to media reports, the incident occurred in November when the said NRA employee went to China on a personal trip. His phone got lost somewhere during the security check at Shanghai Airport.
Surprisingly, the officer realized that the phone was missing after three days. Despite contacting the airport authorities, no trace of the phone has been found so far.
Big blow to Japan's nuclear program
The safety lapse comes at a time when Japan is moving towards reactivating its nuclear power program nearly 15 years after the Fukushima Daiichi disaster.
The NRA was formed to tighten nuclear safety standards after the 2011 tsunami and earthquake. Experts believe that this data falling into the wrong hands could pose a threat to the security of nuclear installations.
Japanese authorities have not yet issued any official statement on the potential impact of this data leak, but the incident has raised questions about protocols and data security internationally.