Laptop containing ‘sensitive information’ stolen from Tarragona nuclear plant inspector’s car

Laptop containing ‘sensitive information’ stolen from Tarragona nuclear plant inspector’s car

An inspector from the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) has reported to the Mossos d’Esquadra the theft of a backpack that he left in his car. The backpack apparently contained a laptop with confidential documentation on the Vandellos II plant in Tarragona province.

As La Vanguardia reported, and Catalan police sources confirmed to Efe, the inspector denounced the theft on the afternoon of Thursday, December 16. He confirmed that the rear window of the car door in which he had travelled to the nuclear power plant had been broken on the occasion of the annual emergency drill.

The man reported that he had parked his car from 4pm to 6pm at Cristal beach, in Mont-Roig del Camp, Tarragona. He had left a grey backpack inside the car, hidden from view,  which contained the work computer, property of the CSN, with a double security password.

According to the data detailed by the inspector, revealed by La Vanguardia, the device kept a large number of contacts of political leaders and relevant public officials from different administrations. It also contained confidential and reserved information on the nuclear power plant.

In its statement, the CSN details that the stolen computer has “various security keys” that can access the documentation, and that, in the “hypothetical case” of somebody being able to enter them, the stored information does not contain “in any case” data about the physical protection of Vandellos II.

According to the CSN, “the physical security of the nuclear power plant is not compromised by this theft”. It claims the computer does not contain information that belongs to the installation’s technological intellectual property.

Specifically, according to the CSN, the information stored in the computer and in various documents stolen that accompanied it, is related to “documentation of a personal and work nature, which, in part, could be considered sensitive”, from the point of view of the Data Protection Act.

The CSN also points out that at the moment there are no suspicions that the theft is related to an attempt to obtain the information contained in the computer, “but rather to taking possession of someone else’s property”, as reported by diariodesevilla.es.

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