IDAHO 3 COMPUTERS POSSIBLY CONTAINING VALUABLE DATA ON ALUMNI, DONORS, EMPLOYEES AND STUDENTS STOLEN FROM UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO ADVANCEMENT SERVICES OFFICEPossible data loss at University of Idaho:

Possible data loss at University of Idaho

POSTED: 13:07 MST Thursday, January 11, 2007

by John M. Foster

The University of Idaho is reporting a computer theft and 331,800 people may be affected.

Three University of Idaho desktop computers were stolen from the school’s Advancement Services office over the holidays. Now the school says that office may have used those computers to store some personal data of university alumni, donors, employees and students.

According to a press release:

An internal investigation conducted by the university revealed that six months prior to the theft, the computer hard drives contained datasets with names, addresses and Social Security numbers for approximately 70,000 individuals.

As a precaution, the University of Idaho is making a broad public notification about the computer theft to approximately 331,800 individuals.

The larger number represents the total number of individuals whose information may have been accessed by Advancement Services as part of the office’s work at the university. In-state residents are receiving an e-mail notice and out-of-state residents are receiving a letter by regular mail.

The hard drives did not contain credit card or other personal account information, said Christopher D. Murray, vice president for university advancement.

“We deeply regret this incident and the worry and inconvenience it may cause, but we want to assure donors, alumni, students and employees that the University of Idaho is strengthening its processes for securing and storing our sensitive data,” said Timothy P. White, University of Idaho president.

The theft occurred over the Thanksgiving holiday and was discovered and reported to City of Moscow police by an employee in the university’s Advancement Services department. The investigation was later transferred to the Latah County Sheriff’s Office. The incident remains under investigation by law enforcement investigators, who had asked the university to delay notification of the theft to preserve the integrity of the criminal investigation. To date, the computers have not been recovered.

Anyone with knowledge regarding the theft of the computers should contact Latah County Sheriff’s Deputy Ron Vietmeier or Detective Tim Besst at (208) 882-2216.

“Our immediate concern is to alert those whose information may have been compromised,” said Murray. The university has distributed a media alert, established a established a website with information about the incident and set up a telephone hotline at 866-351-1860.

The University of Idaho took immediate steps to investigate the nature of the data contained on the stolen computers and to assess and improve upon its internal physical and electronic security. Among the other steps being taken by the university: removing sensitive information from specific computing devices; installing encryption software on desktop and laptop systems that access sensitive information; enhancing physical and electronic security; and improving data management protocols.