Breach, Threat Management, Data Security

Social Security numbers of 14K Texas students on stolen devices

Roughly 14,000 current and former Midland Independent School District students in Texas may have had personal information – including Social Security numbers – compromised after a laptop and unsecured external hard drive were stolen from a district administrator's vehicle.

How many victims? About 14,000.  

What type of personal information? Birth dates and Social Security numbers are among the information.

What happened? A laptop and an unsecured external hard drive, both containing student data, were stolen from the back of a district administrator's vehicle.

What was the response? An investigation has been opened with the Midland Police Department and is ongoing. Notification letters are being sent to parents and guardians of impacted students.

Details: The laptop and external hard drive were stolen on Jan. 23. The theft impacts all current students – seventh graders to high school seniors – and former students dating back to 2008. The data on the laptop was coded and password-protected, but not on the external hard drive.

Quote: “We are reviewing and if needed, changing, all district-wide safety measures to help further ensure the security of confidential information in the future,” Ryder Warren, Midland superintendent, said.

Source: oaoa.com, Odessa American, “Student info stolen from MISD system,” Feb. 3, 2014; nbcdfw.com, “Security Breach Compromises Midland Student Info,” Feb. 3, 2014.

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