Because I am Here

In early November, 2007, the Liberty Coalition discovered 31 separate files containing sensitive information for 333 students who took math courses from Associate Professor Vakhtang Putkaradze between Fall 2001 and Fall 2004 at the University of New Mexico. The files appear to contain full names, 177 partial social security numbers, 190 e-mail addresses, and grades for all 333 students. The last four digits of a person’s Social Security Number is used by businesses to extend credit, and may be used by some financial institutions as a password or identifier. By placing this information online, the University of New Mexico has put these students at an elevated risk of identity theft. In addition, much of the exposed information may be protected by FERPA or other applicable laws.

Information provided publicly by the University of New Mexico’s server indicates that the files have been online since as early as 2001.

UNM immediately deleted the files in question, but some remained available in search engine caches into December, 2007. According to one University of New Mexico official, the university is attempting to contact the affected students, most of whom are no longer at UNM.

University of New Mexico recently activated Google indexing for the campus website, making UNM pages more visible than they once were. The UNM official explained,

“We have notified the departmental IT staffs and asked them to take a careful look at their public data…. We do include a discussion of sensitive data in all new faculty orientations at UNM; however, this material was apparently not added to the new faculty orientation until after Professor Putkaradze arrived on campus. We are reviewing this material and ways to ensure that all faculty at UNM are aware of their obligations to protect student data. UNM takes the protection of private student data very seriously. As much as I would prefer that we did not have incidents like this, I am very grateful that you alerted me to this problem.”

You can confirm whether you were affected by this breach by searching for your name at www.ssnbreach.org.

Source: www.ssnbreach.org.

An identity thief who identifies himself as “Cypher,” explained how he went dumpster diving in New York for sensitive information. Though the Liberty Coalition discovered the file in August, 2007 and reported the breach to the FBI on August 26, the file remained online several months, and was confirmed deleted only on December 7, 2007.

The text file he posted, entitled “Dumpster Diving… Part II.” contained addresses and social security numbers for 49 New York residents. The file boasts, “CONTACT ORGANIZED CONFUZION VIA VOICEMAIL: UNITED STATES HEAD QUARTERS 1+212-415-0239 AFTER 22:00” The number turned out to be a fax number.

This file was reported to the FBI (without any visible action on the FBI’s part), and the Liberty Coalition requested Google to purge it from its caches.

You can confirm whether you were affected by this breach by searching for your name at www.ssnbreach.org.

Source: www.ssnbreach.org.

NEWARK, Delaware. On November 15, 2007 the Liberty Coalition discovered 20 separate files containing sensitive personal information for roughly 582 University of Delaware Chemistry students who participated in the Chemistry mentoring program between 2000 and 2004. This information included full names, dates of birth, roughly 482 social security numbers, addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, home addresses, and a range of other personal information of current or former University of Delaware students. Students affected by this breach may be at extreme risk of identity theft. The files were available to the public on a University of Delaware website.

According to the server, the files had been posted online for as long as seven years. Officials have indicated that the University of Delaware switched away from using Social Security Numbers as identifiers several years ago, and that they did a text-search for social security numbers on their servers at that time. Unfortunately, their internal search engine failed to scan non-plain text files such as MS Excel files.

All of the files are posted in an online folder belonging to Professor Harold White of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, who was shocked to find that they were there. As is often the case, the files were posted on an online file server that requires a password to upload files, but which is available to the public without a password.

You can confirm whether you were affected by this breach by searching for your name at www.ssnbreach.org.

Source: www.ssnbreach.org.

NEW YORK, New York. Hundreds of high school students from Pennsylvania, New York and West Virginia may be at extreme risk of identity theft after winning scholarships from the McKelvey Foundation. The scholarship foundation, started by Monster.com founder Andrew McKelvey, placed a massive cache of former McKelvey Foundation Scholarship winners’ personal information online. A total of 51 files were discovered by the Liberty Coalition on November 8, 2007, using a major search engine. The files contained thousands of records, and roughly 694 unique names, social security numbers, dates of birth, high school, address, phone number, e-mail address, and other sensitive information. The server indicated that most of the files were last modified as early as March, 2004, indicating that they have probably been available online more than three years. Some of the files were modified as late as April 2007.

The Liberty Coalition notified several hundred of the victims of this breach by e-mail on November 26, 2007. Of the dozens who replied to the Liberty Coalition, none reported that they had been notified of the breach by the Foundation.

Though the McKelvey Foundation removed the files from the server within 24 hours of notification, it may be impossible to determine how many people accessed the files, who has copies of the files, or where they are in the world.

A McKelvey Foundation representative explained that the breach was a mistake, and that they were unaware that the files were online at the time the Liberty Coalition contacted them.

Individuals on these lists are at extreme risk of identity theft and other forms of danger. In addition, we also note that as of the date of this announcement, the McKelvey Foundation’s current website is not secure or encrypted, even though they require student applicants to surrender a wide range of sensitive information online. Until the McKelvey fails to secure their website, all youth who apply to the McKelvey Foundation expose their most sensitive information, including home address, e-mail, phone number high school (and, until November 2008, their social security numbers) to additional risk as it is passed over the internet unencrypted. The Liberty Coalition recommends that students should avoid applying for a McKelvey Foundation Scholarship until the foundation encrypts their website, creates a privacy policy, and demonstrates an appreciation of the profound trust thousands of youth and parents have placed in them.

You can confirm whether you were affected by this breach by searching for your name at www.ssnbreach.org.

Source: www.ssnbreach.org.

GAINESVILLE, Florida. On November 15, 2007, the Liberty Coalition discovered 14 separate files on the University of Florida Computing and Networking Services (CNS) website containing sensitive information for 534 former University of Florida students, including 415 social security numbers. All affected individuals appear to be former students of Richard A. Elnicki, D.B.A., Professor Emeritus in ISM 4220 and 4220 between 1998 and 2001.

The University of Florida Office of Information Technology, Computer Networking Services, and the FBI were notified of the breach. The files were taken down immediately by University officials, and they took steps to ensure that major search engines cleared their caches of the sensitive information.

The files were posted on an online file server that requires a password to upload files, even though the public can download the files without a password. Although the Liberty Coalition was unable to contact Professor Elnicki directly, past experience has shown that university faculty occasionally mistakenly believe that files uploaded to these types of servers are secure, or at least not available to the public.

The server indicated that many of the files had been online since 1998. Considering the files have gone undetected for up to nine years, even though they apparently sit on a CNS server, the University of Florida’s failure to detect these files seems especially shocking. Students affected by this breach are at severe risk of identity theft.

You can confirm whether you were affected by this breach by searching for your name at www.ssnbreach.org.

Source: www.ssnbreach.org.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania. In September, 2007 the Liberty Coalition discovered four files on the Penn State Department of Geosciences website containing social security Numbers, assignment scores, test scores, and grades of roughly 39 students.

The University and FBI were notified, and Penn State removed the files within a few business hours of notification. The files were confirmed deleted from Google’s cache in mid-October. However, cached versions of the files remained in other major search engines until mid-November, 2007.

You can confirm whether you were affected by this breach by searching for your name at www.ssnbreach.org.

Source: www.ssnbreach.org

On October 15 and 27, 2007 the Liberty Coalition discovered several Excel files on the Alabama Licensure Board for Interpreters and Transliterators‘ website, which contain sensitive personal information of more than 225 licensed translators. The files contain application information, full names, dates of birth, a few social security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, employer information, and a other information. By posting this information online, the State of Alabama has put some of these individuals at high risk of identity theft.

The Liberty Coalition notified Paula Scout McCaleb, Executive Director, Shonda McQueen, Licensing Agent, the Alabama State Attorney General, and the FBI about this breach. Where possible, we also notified several individuals directly. Of those contacted directly, none indicated that they have yet been contacted by the Alabama Licensure Board.The files were deleted within two days, or two weeks, depending on the file. Since that time, the Alabama Licensure Board for Interpreters and Transliterators continues to publish the names of licensees, but only their names, license numbers and expiration dates. It is unfortunate that the Board did not such have a privacy policy prior to this incident.

You can confirm whether you were affected by this breach by searching for your name at www.ssnbreach.org.

Source: www.ssnbreach.org.

On October 18, 2007 the Liberty Coalition discovered an Excel file on Benbrook, TX-based Lady Bug Home Care’s home page that appears to contain sensitive personal information for 105 job applicants and their references. The file contains, full names, home phone numbers, social security numbers, addresses, e-mail addresses, previous addresses, dates of birth, drivers license numbers, medical information, emergency contact information, medical certification statuses, schools, degrees, car insurance information, and previous car accidents. Many individuals on this list are at extreme risk of identity theft. The site has since been taken down.

Applicants seemed to live in Texas, from the following cities: Alvarado, Arlington, Austin, Bedford, Benbrook, Burleson, Cross Roads, Crowley, Dallas, Denton, Elgin, Euless, Flower Mound, Fort Worth, Georgetown, Glenn Heights, Grandview, Hurst, Kennedale, Lewisville , Mansfield, Mesquite, N. Richland Hill, Pflugerville, Sanger, Weatherford, and Wylie.

You can confirm whether you were affected by this breach by searching for your name at www.ssnbreach.org.

Source: www.ssnbreach.org.

In March 2006, the National Association of State Work Force Agencies (NASWA) posted a file containing the full names, social security numbers, and dates of birth of 1,446 individuals who apparently participated in a program offered by the agencies. The organization was notified in March, 2006, and the file was taken offline. However, the file remained in online caches until at least October, 2008.

You can confirm whether you were affected by this breach by searching for your name at www.ssnbreach.org.

Source: www.ssnbreach.org.

I thought you might all appreciate this exchange between me and Yahoo. In essence, I was trying to get them to take down a website with sensitive information. The owner was nowhere to be found. The registered owner of the domain was a company who pointed me to Yahoo, since Yahoo was the host. Yahoo kept stonewalling me with incorrect form letters. I’ve edited a little for brevity.

Original Message Follows:
————————-

To Yahoo Abuse:

My name is Aaron Titus. I am the Information Privacy Director for the Liberty Coalition.

In September 2007, a file containing around the names, social security numbers, scores, grades, and other information of about 60 students. Though the file had already been removed from your site when it was discovered on September 13, the information was available until September 18, 2007 through a Google Cache.

The file was available online:
[hyperlink omitted]

In addition, the file was available through at least one major search engine.

You should consult legal counsel to determine whether your state has applicable breach notification laws. We trust that you will take action to remove the sensitive files, clear search engine caches, and notify internet archives such as http://web.archive.org, as soon as possible.

This apparent breach will be reported to the FBI through ic3.gov. It will also be documented at SSNBreach.org, once the file becomes unavailable to the public, and it appears as though cached versions have been removed from major search engines.

…

Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any additional questions.

-Aaron Titus

—–Original Message—–
From: Yahoo! Domains [mailto:domains-abuse@cc.yahoo-inc.com]
Sent: Friday, November 09, 2007 12:27 PM
To: Aaron Titus
Subject: Re: Scratchpad50.com Personal Information Breach
(KMM60105393V28300L0KM)

Hello Aaron,

Thank you for writing to Yahoo! Domains.

We appreciate your reporting this instance of abuse. Please write back with a more detailed description of the issue in question and include as much of the following information as you can:

1. A more detailed description of the complaint or issue.
2. Any other information that may help us investigate and take the appropriate action.
Please include the requested information in the body of your email response, and do not send attachments as we are unable to open them.

Additionally, you may want to review the Yahoo! Domains Terms of Service at:
http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/tos/tos.php
Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Domains.

Regards,
Stan
Yahoo! Customer Care
41624814
For assistance with all Yahoo! services please visit:
http://help.yahoo.com/

Original Message Follows:
————————-

Yahoo Abuse,
In response to your “more detailed description of the complaint or issue,” I invite you to read my original e-mail, which reports the issue with painstaking detail. As a courtesy, I have included the original detailed report [in this] e-mail.

Next time, please at least try to pretend that you’re not sending a form letter.

-Aaron Titus

—–Original Message—–
From: Yahoo! Domains [mailto:domains-abuse@cc.yahoo-inc.com]
Sent: Saturday, November 10, 2007 9:45 AM
To: Aaron Titus
Subject: RE: Scratchpad50.com Personal Information Breach
(KMM60147527V5861L0KM)

Hello Aaron,

Thank you for writing to Yahoo! Domains.

We appreciate your inquiry and are sorry for the issues you are experiencing with Google search results. Unfortunately, we are not affiliated with Google and are not able to address any concerns that you may be experiencing with their services.

If you have issues with Google’s search services, we recommend that you contact them directly to have these issues addressed. You can do so by visiting the following page:

http://www.google.com/intl/en/contact/index.html

Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Domains.

Regards,
Stan
Yahoo! Customer Care
41624814
For assistance with all Yahoo! services please visit:
http://help.yahoo.com/

Original Message Follows:
————————-

Boy, you guys really are dense.

Please note that the title of this e-mail is “Scratchpad50.com Personal Information Breach.” As described in my original e-mail, the domain, Scratchpad50.com had exposed several people to increased risk of identity theft. Yahoo is the host for Scratchpad50.com, and should therefore 1. Investigate, and 2. Take appropriate action to eliminate the files mentioned.

If you insist on continuing to reply with irrelevant form letters, next time try to pick one that has some bearing on reality. Or, you can save us both some time and simply say outright,

“Because we get a high volume of e-mails, we do our best to stonewall as many questions with non-answers as possible. This policy keeps our work levels a manageable level. In addition, even though this e-mail address is ‘abuse@yahoo.com,’ Yahoo, Inc. has not empowered us to take any action of a substantial nature to actually fix problems. We are only permitted to answer low-level customer questions, and make sure that customers are not able to penetrate too far into the organization.”

Please consider adding such a form letter to your repertoire.

-Aaron Titus

—–Original Message—–
From: Yahoo! Domains [mailto:domains-abuse@cc.yahoo-inc.com]
Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2007 6:18 AM
To: Aaron Titus
Subject: RE: Scratchpad50.com Personal Information Breach (KMM60186560V79817L0KM)

Dear Aaron,

Thank you for writing to Yahoo! Domains.

Yahoo! Domains is evaluating your request, however, Yahoo! Domain is unlikely to remove the page for the reasons explained below.

Although you have objected to material posted on this Yahoo! Domains user’s page on defamation grounds, Yahoo! Domains is not in a position to know the truth or falsity of the statements at issue and therefore cannot take a position on claims, if any, you may have against this user. Your complaints may be directed more appropriately to the individuals who posted the allegedly objectionable statements. If you are not aware of the identity of this individual, please be advised that Yahoo! Domains complies with third-party subpoenas seeking information that pertains to the identities of given subscribers, within the limits of the federal Electronic communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. ? 2701 et seq., and state law.

We recognize that you may be disappointed with this response, however, it is consistent with federal law. Congress enacted the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (“CDA”), which provides that online service providers may remove, edit or not remove or edit content, in their sole discretion, in recognition of the unique role of online service providers such as Yahoo! Domains. Simply stated, this federal statute protects online service providers from any liability for third-party statements, or for the removal or failure to remove such statements. See also, Zeran v. America Online, Inc., 129 F.3d 327 (4th Cir. 1997), cert. denied, ___ U.S.___ (1998).

Should you have further questions regarding this matter, you may direct them in writing to:

Legal Department
Yahoo! Inc.
701 First Ave.
Sunnyvale, CA 94089

Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Domains.

Regards,
Miller Daniels
Yahoo! Customer Care
41624814

—–Original Message—–
From: Aaron Titus
Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2007 3:05 PM
To: ‘Yahoo! Domains’
Subject: RE: Scratchpad50.com Personal Information Breach (KMM60186560V79817L0KM)

Yahoo Domains,
Thank you for finally finding the [almost] correct form letter! Good Job! [except, I wasn’t talking about “defamation”]

-Aaron Titus