Stolen laptop results in compromised Pepperdine Univ. data

A laptop containing unencrypted data belonging to Pepperdine University “campus community members” was stolen from the car of an employee at the Malibu, Calif. college.

How many victims? 8,300. Of the data compromised, 75 percent of the names belong to students.

What type of personal information? Full names, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth.

What happened? The laptop was stolen from an "authorized" university employee's car.

What was the response? Andrew Benton, the university's president, notified students and employees via letter. In addition to reporting the incident to local authorities, the university has launched its own investigation and has enlisted the help of identity theft experts. Those affected by the breach will receive free credit monitoring.

Details: The stolen laptop was primarily used for work related to the IRS. The data dated back to 2008 and primarily belonged to students. Benton acknowledged that the school needs to review policies relating to technology and sensitive data storage

Quote: “We will learn from this loss, and we will support those who experience any impact from it,” Benton said.

 Source: www.pepperdine-graphic.com, Pepperdine University Graphic Online Daily, "Laptop theft compromises information of 8300 campus community members," Dec. 7, 2012.