Updated

Authorities have lost personal information for hundreds of thousands of Californian home-care workers and recipients, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing an internal government email.

The breach of security, affecting more than 700,000 people associated with California's In-Home Supportive Services program, was discovered on Wednesday, according to the email.

"While we continue to investigate, at this time we can't confirm whether the information was damaged, lost or stolen," the email said, adding that law enforcement agencies had been notified.

The information that has been lost includes names, Social Security numbers and wages, the Times reported.

A news release issued late Friday by the California Department of Social Services said, "The information was in a package that was damaged in transit between a Hewlett Packard processing center and the State Compensation Insurance Fund.

"Upon arrival, it was noted that the package was damaged and that some of the information was missing."

The department advised those affected to take appropriate steps to protect their identities and credit files.