Arkansas News Bureau

LITTLE ROCK — The personal information of about 35,000 current and former members of the Arkansas Army National Guard was on a computer hard drive reported missing last month, the Guard said today.

The drive had been used as backup storage over the past six years. Guard officials announced the disappearance of the hard drive on Feb. 24 but said at the time they did not know how many Guard members were affected.

The data includes names, Social Security numbers and other personal information, potentially putting the Guard members at risk of identity theft. The affected members will be notified by mail, the Guard said.

The Guard is recommending that affected members to monitor their bank and credit card statements since November 2009, when the device was last used, and to report any suspicious activity to the financial institutions involved. Soldiers are also being urged to contact one of the three major credit bureaus if they notice any suspicious activity.