On August 25, 2010, Mercedes Costoyas, a.k.a., Mercedes Costoyas-Perret, 53, of Iowa City, IA, and John P. Phommivong, 30, of North Liberty, IA, were each sentenced to one year probation for exceeding authorized computer access. The sentencing was announced on September 25 by United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. United States District Judge James E….
Category: Education Sector
Preventing Data Breaches: Lessons From Higher Education
Alex Rothacker writes: Since 2008, higher education institutions have experienced a staggering 158 data breaches resulting in over 2.3 million reported records compromised. In 2009 alone there were 57 reported data breaches, and year to date through July of 2010, there have already been 32 breaches. Considering that most breaches are not reported until well…
23% of university students have hacked into an IT system
A good education is so important. Carrie Ann-Skinner reports: Nearly a quarter (23 percent) of university students have successfully hacked into IT systems, says Tufin Technologies. Research by the security firm revealed that of those that successfully hacked into a system, 40 percent were over 18. While 84 percent of students surveyed said they knew…
Device with personal information stolen off campus
Jocelyn Wright provides additional details on the previously mentioned breach involving a device stolen from Rice University. As the headline indicates in their student newspaper suggests, it appears that the device was stolen off-campus, although the university is not providing additional detail on that. The article also indicates that the data on the…
Saint Anselm College alumni mailing exposed SSN
Back in May, Saint Anselm College notified the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office that a spring 2010 mailing of its alumni newsletter had inadvertently exposed SSN of 122 New Hampshire residents on the mailing labels. This month, Saint Anselm notified the office that it seemed that the exposure problem had occurred as early as its…
Are colleges and universities at greater risk of data breaches?
John Cox discusses the recent report by Application Security, mentioned previously on this site. A database security vendor says colleges and universities need to do more to secure their databases against break-ins. Application Security, which uses the name AppSec, reviewed data breaches in higher education, drawing from a variety of published sources. The company, based…