From BWOG, Columbia University’s undergraduate magazine:
Three laptops containing the personal information of 1,400 Columbia affiliates were stolen Monday from university offices, administration sources tell Bwog.
Though details of the thefts are not yet being released, university officials confirm that Social Security numbers are among the sensitive data contained on the laptops. The computers were protected with passwords, but because the security of the laptops may have been breached, administrators are taking steps to inform affected undergraduates, alumni, employees, and prospective students about the incident via e-mail today.
[…]
Moody-Adams says the university has arranged for two years of credit monitoring for those individuals whose data was on the laptops. She adds that several other steps are being taken, including more encryption of sensitive information, establishing new security safeguards in administrative offices, and intensifying its scanning of computer equipment for security threats. An investigation into the thefts has also been opened by the NYPD, which declined to comment on how the thefts occured, what building the laptops were stolen from, and the exact number of affected undergraduates.
Read more on BWOG.
Updated Feb. 7: Columbia’s notification to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office is now available online (pdf).