Monica Norton reports:
A USB drive containing the personal information of students at a Woodbridge middle school was stolen during a burglary last week, according to a notice sent to parents on Friday.
The drive, used by Lake Ridge Middle School administrators to contact parents in the event of an emergency, contained students names, identification numbers and phone numbers, as well as other information that could identify a student.
Read more in the Washington Post.
According to the letter sent to parents:
Immediately upon learning of the theft of confidential School Division data, PWCS and the Prince William County Police Department commenced an investigation to determine the scope of this exposure. The exact information on the stolen “thumb drive” relating to your child included student identification number, student name, parent/guardian name and phone numbers, and student bus number or walker status. Additional identifiable data relating to your child may also have been included.
There is nothing that could cause identity theft to occur with just this information. It’s not a good situation but with a student id number, assuming that it is not a SSN, the biggest problem is predators, not identity thieves.
This blog is not about ID theft. It’s about inadequate security of information that should be secured. Kids’ and parents’ details should be secured. Not just from sexual predators, but from those who would interfere with custody or restraint orders, etc.