ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories has located a floppy disk that had turned up missing in a recent inventory. The floppy disk, which had been marked classified, was found about 1 p.m. today (Friday). Sandia had reported the disk as missing June 30 in a wall-to-wall inventory.
The disk was found inside the secure area. The disk contained no weapons data or information that could have damaged national security. “The disk was always under the control of individuals authorized to possess it,” said Ron Detry, Vice President of Integrated Security and Chief Security Officer at Sandia. “The recent inventory found it to be missing because of a procedural error in that it apparently had not been properly transferred from one organization to another.”
Sandia Corporation President and Laboratories Director C. Paul Robinson said: “We are relieved the disk has been found. But in my mind, the nature of the near miss of this recent incident is far too close for comfort. We must find better ways and procedures for ensuring the protection of such material.” Robinson said he is asking Detry to lead a task force with membership from across the labs’ classified programs to improve the management of classified electronic information and removable media.