U. Mass, Dartmouth Prof. Puts 32 Student's Personal Info Online
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 30, 2008 UPDATED: March 3, 2008Media Contact: Aaron Titus
(202) 669-2969
DARTMOUTH, Massachusetts. In December, 2007 the Liberty Coalition discovered the names, grades, GPA, and partial social security numbers for 32 former students of Phuong Tu, probably from the Fall, 2004 CIS 100 class. Ironically, the sensitive information was contained posted on the Computer and Information Science Department's main web server. In the file, students' complete social security numbers appeared to be listed, with only the first number replaced by a zero. On March 3, 2008, University Registrar, Dr. Carnell Jones, Jr., informed the Liberty Coalition that all 32 students had been informed of the exposure by certified mail.
By placing this information online, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth has put these students at increased risk of identity theft.
Individuals affected by this exposure should immediately visit www.nationalidwatch.org and search for their names, to confirm what types of personal information were exposed. NationalIDWatch.org has a list of recommended steps victims should take.
About NationalIDWatch.org
National ID Watch is a search engine for personal information breaches. Sponsored by the Washington, DC non-profit Liberty Coalition, NationalIDWatch.org provides more than a million free personalized Identity Exposure Reports™ as a public service.
Each Identity Exposure Report (IXR) documents what types of personal information were exposed (such as Social Security Numbers, Birth Dates, Addresses, etc.), without revealing them. Each IXR also details the situation surrounding each exposure, and contact information of those responsible for the breach. Armed with this information, victims can further investigate, take action, or correct harm.