Stolen UConn laptop contained applicants' personal information
A laptop containing sensitive data from University of Connecticut applications recently was stolen.How many victims? 10,174.
What type of personal information? Names and Social Security numbers.
What happened? The laptop, which was being kept in a storage cabinet at the UConn West Hartford campus' information technology department, was discovered missing on Aug. 3.
Details: The computer had undergraduate admissions files that contained contact information and Social Security numbers of the applicants. The information spans the period from 2004 through July 30, 2010.
There is no indication the laptop was stolen for the purpose of identify theft.
What was the response? Steps have been taken to prevent unauthorized access to the university through the computer. UConn police are looking into whether school security policies were followed.
Affected individuals are being notified about the breach and offered free credit monitoring coverage for two years.
Source: www.westhartfordnews.com, West Hartford News, “Laptop with Social Security numbers stolen from UConn West Hartford,” Aug. 19, 2010.
