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Cornell Computer Theft Puts 45,000 At Risk of Identity Theft
PL/SQL Guy writes "This afternoon, Cornell alerted over 45,000 current and former members of the University community that their confidential personal information — including name and social security number — had been leaked when a University-owned computer was stolen. A Cornell employee had access to this data for troubleshooting purposes, and the files storing the sensitive information were being stored on a computer that was not physically secure. The university is not disclosing details about the theft. This isn't the first breach for Cornell; last June, a computer at Cornell used for administrative purposes was hacked, and the University alerted 2,500 students and alumni that their personal information had potentially been stolen."
I was once emailed word file with about 300 student's names, birthdates, social security numbers, and yes, user passwords for their university accounts. It was not encrypted and it was unsolicited--she needed help "opening" it. I promptly encrypted the file, deleted the original from my pop account, and then went to her computer and changed the name to have a ".doc" suffix. She was magically able to open it after that.
These are the people we entrust with our sensitive information.
Just callin' it like I see it.
It is extremely frustrating. I encrypt my personal data when it is under my control. It is unforgivable that an institution that I pay this much can't do the same.