On May 18, Plymouth State University noticed that an external hard drive that they used for backup purposes was missing. One of the files on the drive was a spreadsheet that contained the names and Social Security numbers of 1,059 students enrolled in the teacher education and certification program between 2005 and 2010. As the…
Category: Education Sector
WA: Clark College issues alert after potential security breach
Fox12 News reports: An alert has been issued because of a potential database security breach at Clark College in Vancouver. An email, sent out to employees of the school, stated there was unauthorized access to college computer records that resulted in the potential disclosure of some faculty and student information. School authorities are encouraging people…
(follow-up) Sydney Uni ‘breached student privacy’
An investigation has found the University of Sydney failed in its obligations by not securing students’ private details on its website. A section of the university’s website was shut down in January after it was found sensitive information could be obtained by entering a student’s identification number. No password was required to access the name…
(update) Laptops stolen from a contractor’s van had a slew of sensitive student data
Remember the Illinois State Board of Education laptops stolen from a Harrisburg Project van recently? I was reading more about the incident and noticed that there was even more sensitive data on the laptops than originally indicated in media coverage: The staff data stored on the computers included name, demographics, Social Security number, teacher certification…
State extends contract with company that lost West Aurora, Kaneland schools information
Do training using real data? Neither necessary nor smart…. and yet their contract is extended? Matt Brennan reports: West Aurora and Kaneland were the only school districts in the Fox Valley impacted when two laptop computers were recently stolen that contained the personal information of more than 10,000 students and staff from 42 school districts…
Man infects college PCs to steal huge database
Dan Goodin reports: A former college student has admitted taking part in a criminal scheme that used malware to steal and sell large databases of faculty and alumni, change grades, and siphon funds from other students’ accounts. Daniel J. Fowler, 21, of Kansas City, Missouri, pleaded guilty in federal court there to computer hacking conspiracy…