IBM has lost a hard drive containing the records of 180,000 clients of an insurance company. Details include “names, addresses, beneficiaries, social insurance numbers, pension values, pre-authorized checking information and mothers’ maiden names”, according to wire reports. Anything else? Oh yes, their bank account details. But is it carelessness, or is it theft? No-one knows yet, but the hard-drive was stored in a supposedly secure facility in Regina, SK, at ISM Canada, an IBM subsidiary. Local police and the RCMP (the Mounties) are investigating. Meanwhile, Co-operators General Insurance Co. has sent a letter to 180K clients this week, warning them of the possibility of identity theft. Full Story