University of Central Florida Prof Posts Grades, Partial SSNs Online
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 22, 2008Media Contact: Aaron Titus
(202) 669-2969
ORLANDO, Florida. In an incident that repeats itself weekly at a new U.S. university, Dr. Tran of the University of Central Florida's Computer Science Data Systems Group posted sensitive student information online. The files were posted in December, 2002, and include names and grades of 141 of his students who took courses in Fall 2000 and Spring 2001. Unfortunately, in addition to posting academic information, the files also contain 60 partial social security numbers. The Liberty Coalition notified UCF on January 30th, 2008, and again on March 28, 2008 after two months of inaction. The files were deleted soon thereafter, but remained in search engine caches until mid-April, 2008.
The last four digits of the social security number is used by financial institutions as a password and proof-of identity. By placing this information online, the University of Central Florida has placed these students at increased risk of fraud or 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.