CSU Chico Identities Compromised

MisterFuRR writes "California State University Chico is the latest victim of Identity theft. Aparently one of their "Food Service" machines was cracked and used to distribute "games, files, and other media". An official response is available." From the article: "The names of 15,500 current students, 1,000 faculty, 1,500 staff and former students going back about five years were in a database that was potentially compromised. The files also included information on prospective students."

Comments

Proof, yet again, that SSNs should not be used!

[garcia]

Why oh why do people give out their SSNs even when registering for college courses? I work at a college and I went to college. You aren't required to give your SSN and when I register for courses now I certainly don't.

Colleges shouldn't even ask applicants for their SSN. Yeah, it's a real pain in the ass 12 years from now when you try and get your transcripts and you can't remember your student ID. I graduated in 2001 and I remember mine... Maybe I won't in 10 more years but I will know that I can be searched for by name and graduation date.

DO NOT GIVE OUT YOUR SSN TO ANYONE. If they ask then politely decline and ask if they will allow another ID number. Every college I know of has a student ID field.

Here we are pushing students to use their student ID instead of their SSNs (a good majority of students give us the wrong SSN anyway).

Re:Proof, yet again, that SSNs should not be used!

[rkcallaghan]

Why oh why do people give out their SSNs even when registering for college courses?

Because its utterly impossible to get by without doing so?

You aren't required to give your SSN.

You are, if you need student loans, work study, or other financial aid.

I'm a current student at Mesa Community College in Arizona, USA. I can tell you that there is absolutely no way I could have gotten through all the things I need to do to continue my education without using my SSN. I've personally asked about not using such information, and been told flat in several instances that I could not. Failure to cooperate results in poor service from the school, and likely revocation of privledges.

If I wanted to park within a mile radius of campus? SSN, Drivers License Number, and License Plate.

I'm normally quite concious about my personal information. There's just no way for me not to give my SSN to my school, though.

~Rebecca

choose a purpose

[MrLint]

Have any of these people ever heard of data segregation?

Why on earth would a 'food service' computer either have on it, or have access to a list of prospective students? So they can preemptively issue dining cards in case of alien attack?

Re:choose a purpose

[ndege]

Why on earth would a 'food service' computer either have on it, or have access to a list of prospective students? So they can preemptively issue dining cards in case of alien attack?

No. The meal cards were most likely issued because these prospective students were recruited to visit the campus. During their visit, the prospective students used their free meal cards. The cost of these meals would have been billed back to the recruiting/marketing department at the university and the recruiting/marketing department would have to account for the cost and associate it with a specific prospective student.

This is pure speculation on my behalf for this university, but this is the exact process used at the university I attended and a few others that I considered.

What?

[mboverload]

What the hell are these databases doing on machines connected to the internet?

"The Last Lonely Man"

[Thud457]

If this keeps up, pretty soon we're all going to have the same identity!

Re:unbreakable?

[prgrmr]

In this day and age it's entirely possible to have the web server on one box, the application on another, and the database on a third. The systems and OSs on all of them can all be different from each other.

Re:FYI

[cot]

You're a bit too sheltered. Here's a remedial homework assignment to make up for your lack of education:

Go to the store and buy
-A 12 pack of pabst blue ribbon or equivalent
-A funnel
-four feet of plastic hose

Your assigment is to find the fastest way to get the most beer into your stomach. Bonus points for finishing the 12 pack before you puke (with partial credit for fininshing the 12 pack even after you puke)

Re:beer bongs

[shrubya]

Is this an accessory for smoking or a new way to consume potent potables

Dude, you must be using WAY too much of the other kind of bong if you couldn't even do a simple google (and for a few seconds more, the image search).

And just to make sure this isn't Offtopic, here's some Chico info