From their announcement:
Montana Tech of the University of Montana administrators are notifying students and alumni whose personal information was released in an e-mail message sent out to the Montana Tech campus community late last week.
On April 22, 2010, an email message containing sensitive personal information such as name, social security number, address, phone number, and in some cases date of birth was inadvertently sent out to all Montana Tech faculty, staff, and students.
“We are treating this matter very seriously and are taking all measures to safeguard the personal information of those affected,” noted Chancellor Frank Gilmore. “We have recalled the email message, reviewed procedures to ensure that a similar incident does not occur in the future, and investigated methods to protect the credit of those affected. The University is working diligently to address problems caused by this incident and any further implications it might have.”
According to University officials, the email contained sensitive information for approximately 260 individuals. “Our major concern at this point is protecting the personal information of those involved,” Gilmore explained. To that end, University officials have attempted to contact—via phone, email, and/or letters—all those affected. In addition, Montana Tech has created a website to provide information and assist those affected in protecting their personal information at www.mtech.edu/incident.
Montana Tech does want individuals to be aware of any phone calls, e-mails, and other communications from individuals claiming to be from Montana Tech or other official sources, asking for their personal information or verification of it. This is often referred to as information solicitation. Montana Tech, other governmental agencies, and other legitimate organizations will not contact individuals to ask for or to confirm personal information without appropriate identification.
For more information, please contact Maggie Peterson at 496-4316 or Amanda Badovinac at 406-496-4828.
Source: Montana Tech, the University of Montana
Related: Letter to Those Affected
The Associated Press adds:
Montana Tech administrator Maggie Peterson says the e-mail was an invitation to watch students present their research projects. But the file that this year’s information was taken from included the names, addresses, Social Security numbers and in some cases birth dates of students whose research projects were done from 1998 through 2005.