[The breach of the week.]
Personal info for 300K exposed in FLA college hack; already 50
identity theft cases
SSNs and more lifted from a server. Students, alumni, and employees
affected.
*by Sean Gallagher**
**Ars Technica**
**
**Oct 11 2012, 1:15pm CDT*
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/10/personal-info-for-300k-exposed-in-fla-college-hack-already-50-identity-theft-cases/
Personal informationfor as many as 300,000 people
<http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/10/10/200k-students-information-stolen-in-massive-computer-hacking-at-fl-college/> at Northwest
Florida State College has been exposed by a data breach that lasted for
at least four months. Victims run the gamut of people on campus,
including students, prospective students, and current and retired
employees. The breach has already lead to at least 50 cases of identity
theft, resulting in loans and credit cards being issued in the names of
school employees.
The data was stolen from a shared folder on the college's main file
server, and it contained social security numbers and dates of birth for
over 200,000 Florida students from across the state who had applied for
scholarships. The data also encompasses payroll and Direct Deposit
information for many employees and retirees. In a memo to all employees
<http://www.nwfsc.edu/security/pdf/Data%20Security%20Breach%20Memo%2010-8-12.pdf>
(PDF) sent out on October 8, Northwest Florida State College President
Dr. Ty Handy said that information had been gleaned from multiple files
in a folder on the college's main server.
"No one file had a complete set of personal information regarding
individuals," Handy wrote. "However, by working between files, the
hacker(s) have been able to piece together enough information to be able
to engage in the theft of identity of at least 50 employees."
Those employees' identities were used to obtain "pay-day" loans from
PayDayMax, Inc. and Discount Advance Loans, as well as to obtain Home
Depot credit cards. The loans were set up for payments to be
automatically deducted from the victims' bank accounts. The college is
still investigating which students' records were exposed.
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