Archive for April, 2008
Florida State University Prof Posts 33 Students’ SSNs Online
Posted by Titus in Data Breaches on April 1, 2008
TALLAHASSEE, Florida. The personal information of 66 Florida State University students sat on a public FSU Chemistry Department server for more than five years. Several files included names, 33 social security numbers, grades, homework and exam scores. All of the individuals affected by this breach appear to be former students of Dr. Steinbock, an FSU professor.
The Liberty Coalition discovered the files in late January, 2008 and notified the university. FSU quickly removed the files from the server, but they remained available through search engine caches until late March, 2008.
This incident falls into a nationwide pattern where university professors use public university servers to back up sensitive student personal information, either unaware of the sensitive information, or unaware that the information would be available to the public.
Individuals affected by this exposure should immediately visit www.ssnbreach.org and search for their names, to confirm what types of personal information were exposed.
About SSNBreach.org
Sponsored by the Washington, DC non-profit Liberty Coalition, SSNBreach.org provides hundreds of thousands of free personalized Identity Exposure Reports™ as a public service.
Each Identity Exposure Report (IXR) documents what types of personal information were exposed (such as Social Security Numbers, Birth Dates, Addresses, etc.), without revealing them. Each IXR also details the situation surrounding each exposure, and contact information of those responsible for the breach. Armed with this information, victims can further investigate, take action, or correct harm.
Texas A&M Prof Posts Partial SSNs, Grades of Former Students Online
Posted by Titus in Data Breaches on April 1, 2008
COLLEGE STATION, Texas. On November 21, 2000, someone posted the names, scores, Grades, and last five digits of 44 students’ social security numbers on a Texas A&M server. All affected students attended Dr. Clyde Munster’s Fall 1998 Hydrologic Principles in Agriculture class (AGEN 350). The Liberty Coalition discovered the files in late November, 2007. Though the university quickly removed the files from public access after notification, copies remained online through late March, 2008 in search engine caches.
This breach fits within a common pattern where university faculty or staff use university servers to store backed-up files, assuming that since the system requires a password to upload files, that the servers are private. Unfortunately, in this instance, some of Dr. Munster’s backed-up files contained sensitive information which was made available online and picked up by search engines.
Individuals affected by this exposure should immediately visit www.ssnbreach.org and search for their names, to confirm what types of personal information were exposed.
About SSNBreach.org
Sponsored by the Washington, DC non-profit Liberty Coalition, SSNBreach.org provides hundreds of thousands of free personalized Identity Exposure Reports™ as a public service.
Each Identity Exposure Report (IXR) documents what types of personal information were exposed (such as Social Security Numbers, Birth Dates, Addresses, etc.), without revealing them. Each IXR also details the situation surrounding each exposure, and contact information of those responsible for the breach. Armed with this information, victims can further investigate, take action, or correct harm.