FBI probes network breach at Stanford By Steven Musil http://news.com.com/FBI+probes+network+breach+at+Stanford/2100-7349_3-572075 4.html
Story last modified Wed May 25 18:30:00 PDT 2005 The FBI is investigating a computer system security breach at Stanford University that may have put the personal information of nearly 10,000 people at risk, the university said Wednesday. The intrusion occurred on May 11 at the Career Development Center, when someone gained access to the school's network from outside the university, Stanford general counsel Debra Zumwalt said. The university said it notifying 9,600 clients--mostly students--and 300 recruiters who registered at the office since 1996. Client records included Social Security numbers and resumes, financial or government information, the university said. However, some recruiter records included credit card information. When the network breach was detected, the center's computers were temporarily disabled and the incident was reported to the FBI field office in San Jose, Calif. "Protection of confidential information is a high priority of Stanford," Zumwalt said in a statement. "Since this incident, we have been working to understand this breach of our system and ways to prevent a reoccurrence." The notifications were made in accordance with the 2003 Security Breach Information Act, which requires companies to disclose incidents in which a California resident's confidential information has been jeopardized. The break-in follows a similar incident at Virginia's George Mason University in January, in which hackers gained access to the personal information, including Social Security numbers, of more than 30,000 students, faculty and staff. As a result of the attack, the university promised to change the manner in which it uses Social Security numbers to identify people, including striking the codes from its campus IDs. You are a subscribed member of the infowarrior list. Visit www.infowarrior.org for list information or to unsubscribe. This message may be redistributed freely in its entirety. Any and all copyrights appearing in list messages are maintained by their respective owners.
