IDAHO UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO RADIO NEWS REPORTER DISCUSSES COMPUTER THEFT WITH ADVANCEMENT VP (AUDIO AVAILABLE AT LINK) KUOI News » Blog Archive » KUOI News January 29, 2007

KUOI News January 29, 2007

KUOI News; Argonaut reporter gets Poynter Fellowship, University Advancement VP talks computer theft, Staircase removal, Akey takes the field
Thank you for listening to KUOI news I’m Jennifer Castro

University of Idaho journalism student Cynthia Raynaud was chosen by Poynter Institute for a summer fellowship. Rei Matsumoto has the story.

“This is Cynthia..”

U of I senior Cynthia Reynaud, has been awarded a Summer Fellowship for Young journalists, by the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. The six-week reporting and writing program is known as a combination of boot camp and finishing school.

(Reynaud)
“I think it’s for journalist who are open to learning……Hopefully we will learn a lot.”

Ninety-six applicants sought after the program and Reynaud is one of the 16 college seniors and recent graduates chosen.

(Reynaud)
“Very honored, extremely honored……continueing the legacy doing this at U of I.”

Reynaud is currently a reporter and news editor of the Argonaut. In 2005, she won a Chips Quinn Fellowship from the Freedom Forum and worked as a reporter for the St Cloud Times in Minnesota. In 2006, she had a summer internship with the Lewiston Tribune. Kenton Bird, Director of U of I school of Journalism and Mass Media, has more to say about the program.

(Bird)
“It is almost a seal of approval……a lot of hurdles”

Bird is also a professor here at the U of I and has the pleasure to teach Reynaud.

(Bird)
“Beyond her resume..”

(Reynaud)
“I think that I’ve had a great education..”

Cynthia Reynaud is the third U of I student to be awarded the fellowship. For KUOI News I’m Rei Matsumoto

U of I is cracking down on their security measures after three computers were stolen from campus.

Over 300,000 emails have been sent out from the University of Idaho to notify students, staff, alumni, and donors that three computers were stolen from campus. The stolen computers contained 70,000 names, social security numbers, and other sensitive data. The computers were stolen from the Offices of Development Building.

Chris Murray, the Vice President for University Advancement says police are still investigating how the thieves got into the building.

Murray: “ We don’t know how they got in, the computers were taken hastily, you can tell they were, one cord was ripped out of the wall, you can tell this was a smash and grab kind of a thing.”

The University is now taking new measures to protect the information that is stored on the computers.

Murray: “There are also some things we have gone ahead and done immediately, for example we are not allowing you to store sensitive data on your c drive any longer, you will save it on a network which is in a locked room with cameras so there are some measure that have been taken.”

Murray agrees that the University needs to change how it stores its information on computers.

Murray: “We shouldn’t save data on local c drives, or hard drives because what can happen is somebody can take your computer and the information you have on it is gone. We should be saving on servers only when we are dealing with sensitive information.”

So the question is should someone be worried if their identity can be used from the stolen computers.

Murray: “Someone trying to use the data on those computers is very small but the reality is that somebody could use that information in a negative way.

Murray advises everyone to call the identity hotline to check if their identity was stored on the computers. The number for the identity hotline is (866) 351-1860. So far there have been no reports of anyone’s identity being used. For KUOI news I’m Jennifer Castro.

In addition to taking new security measures U of I is also making changes tocampus safety. Tom Pervis reports…

Safety on the UI campus is a big issue anytime of the year, but during the winter, facility safety turns up a notch. Facility Services is the department in charge of keeping the campus clear of snow and also taking care of possible safety hazards. One recent safety hazard that was taken care of was the demolition of the age-old wooden staircase that runs between Phi Kappa Tau and Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. Facilities Exterior Director Charles Zillinger made it clear that the stairs were a safety hazard, saying that “When we took down the stairs, the wood basically disintegrated before our eyes.” UI Student Josh White expressed his thoughts on it

(White)
“It’s really disappointing because first they block the stairs off and you know, you kind of try to get around them…you go down them and then you come back from Christmas break and the stairs are gone.”

Despite the disappointment of some students, the wooden staircase that has stood for over 15 years is not coming back. Zillinger said that no further plans have been made to build a new staircase. For KUOI News, I’m Tom Purvis

U of I has welcomed their new head football coach Rob Akey with open arms. Replacing last seasons coach Dennis Erickson, Akey is excited to rebuild the team. Tileena Leighton has the story.

Thank you for listening to KUOI News, I’m Jennifer Castro