Hong Kong 's electoral office has apologized after two laptops were stolen Attack.Databreach , containing voter registration records along with the names of members of its Election Committee , which picked a new chief executive for the region last weekend . The REO says the laptops were stored in a locked room at the AsiaWorld Expo , a large conference facility next to Chek Lap Kok International Airport just north of Lantau Island . `` We apologize to the voters for the incident , '' the REO says . `` The REO will inform the affected voters about the incident as soon as possible . '' The data was stored in accordance with the `` relevant security requirements , '' including multiple layers of encryption , the REO says . It did not specific what type of encryption was used . It also did not say how many voters might be affected , but Channel News Asia reported that Hong Kong has 3.7 million registered voters . Hong Kong 's Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data has launched an investigation . On March 26 , the Election Committee picked Carrie Lam as the first female chief executive of Hong Kong , which is formally known as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People 's Republic of China . The election happens every five years . The laptops were part of a backup system for the election . REO says the room , in Hall 7 of the AsiaWorld Expo , was monitored by closed-circuit television . The South China Morning Post reported that the door to the room was locked and required both a passcode and an access card for entry . It does n't appear the door was forced open . An anonymous source told the SCMP that the computers themselves were not expensive , leading investigators to believe that the equipment may have been intentionally targeted . The laptops were left in the storeroom on March 22 and were still there two days later . The theft Attack.Databreach was discovered on March 27 . The computers were taken out of their bags , which were left behind , the SCMP reported .