From the UF web site: University of Florida officials have notified 239 former students that their names, addresses and Social Security numbers were part of a web-accessible archive of computer science class information created in 2003 by a faculty member. Discovered last month, the website was removed immediately from the server, which is housed in…
Category: Education Sector
Ohio State University averages 10 data breaches per year
Jenny Fogle reports: With six data breaches in the past year, Ohio State officials are urging students and faculty to help keep private information safe.”Ohio State has been tracking [breaches] for the past three years,” said Charles Morrow-Jones, director of IT Security. “We’ve been averaging about 10 per year and virtually all of them involve…
Maine: Student SSN Collection for Tracking On Hold After Data Breach
I’ve previously covered the new law in Maine that asks parents to provide their children’s Social Security Numbers so that the state can track the students. A number of school boards had the wisdom to write to the parents and basically say, “Look, we have to ask you for it, but we encourage you to…
Two Sentenced for Accessing President’s Student Loan Records
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….
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…