CSU Chico Prof Exposes 30 Students Info Online
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 15, 2008Media Contact: Aaron Titus
(202) 681-1686
CHICO, California. A California State University, Chico Computer Science Professor accidentally placed an excel file online containing the names, test scores, lab scores, and last four digits of 30 former students' social security numbers. All affected individuals appear to be former students of Jim McElroy.
The file was created in August, 2003 and appears to have been online for nearly five years. It was discovered in May, 2008. University officials quickly took the file offline after the Liberty Coalition alerted them on May 26, 2008. The file now appears to have cleared from major search engines' caches.
The last four digits of the social security number is used as a password by some financial institutions, and in some instances just those four numbers are sufficient to get credit. By allowing this information to be posted online, CSU Chico has placed these individuals at increased risk of fraud.
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.