FLORIDA COMPUTER STOLEN Law & Order | TimesDaily.com | Times Daily | Florence, AL:
: A 42-inch plasma television, computer and $75 cash were taken from a residence on Chandler Drive, Florence.
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Saturday, March 01, 2008
FLORIDA COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM SALVATION ARMY News - - Gainesville.com
Thieves again hit Salvation Army
By LISE FISHERSun staff writer
Thieves helped themselves late Thursday to electronics and other items at a Gainesville Salvation Army store that raises money to aid the community.
Representatives for the store at 55 NW 23rd Ave. estimate it lost about $80,000 either in stolen goods or damage.
“We're here to help the community. Money into the store is forwarded to support the programs we provide for the community,” said Capt. Raquel Lorenzo with the Gainesville Salvation Army. “They didn't really steal from us. They stole from the community actually.”
Culprits apparently used a vehicle to mow down a fence at the site, went to the back of the store and ripped a metal wall off the back of the store, according to the Salvation Army.
Eight air conditioning units were damaged by the thieves. Lorenzo said it looked like they were trying to strip copper from the units. But they actually did more damage to the equipment than they got from them.
The stolen computer equipment and electronics taken from the store had been valued at about $35,000, Lorenzo said.
Earlier in the month, vandals hit the same store.
On Feb. 2, someone gutted one air conditioning unit in an attempt to steal copper and shot out nine windows. Damages came to more than $10,000, the Salvation Army reported.
“Maybe they came back to finish the job,” Lorenzo said.
At the time of the most recent break-in, officials had been renovating the store, including adding more security features, Lorenzo said. New fencing, bars and security cameras are being installed.
The store still opened on Friday, and Gainesville Police are investigating the theft.
OHIO COMPUTER STOLEN The Advocate - www.newarkadvocate.com - Newark, Ohio:
# A laptop computer was stolen from the 1,100 block of Hebron Road between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. Monday. A man left the computer on top of his vehicle and when he came back to retrieve it, it was gone. Security video revealed footage of two men in the parking lot, one of them carrying a case the man said looked like his computer. The men later were identified and told police they took the computer and sold it to someone else for $100. They were not able to retrieve the computer and offered to compensate the owner for the value of the computer.
COLORADO STEALING CORPORATE SECRETS EnergyBiz Magazine Online
Stealing Corporate Secrets
February 29, 2008
Ken Silverstein, EnergyBiz Insider
Editor-in-Chief
Read More Online: www.energycentral.com/gobiz.cfm
No business is immune. While most of the attention is on beefing up information technology units to deal with cyber threats, many smaller-to-mid-sized companies are losing ground to criminals using ordinary techniques. Indeed, industrial espionage can range from stealing intellectual property to trade secrets to marketing materials -- all of which could be obtained by combing through unprotected documents.
Corporate espionage is big business. According to the FBI, such theft costs all U.S. companies between $24 billion and $100 billion annually. Interestingly, only about 20 percent of those losses are tied to cyber threats while the majority of them are associated with low-tech schemes such as unlawfully entering open offices.
"Economic espionage will be increasingly common as nation-states use cyber theft of data to gain economic advantage in multinational deals," says the SANS Institute, an information security firm. "The attack of choice involves targeted spear phishing with attachments, using well-researched social engineering methods to make the victim believe that an attachment comes from a trusted source."
Some well-publicized espionage cases have made the news in recent times and include everything from impersonating reporters and board members to burrowing through tossed trash. In the case of the former, Hewlett Packard had hired investigators to obtain phone records of journalists so that it could find out the source of leaks occurring inside its boardroom. The company just settled claims by agreeing to donate to several charities. Meanwhile, the latter method involved a Canadian drug maker named Biovail Corp., which was taking the trash of a former pharmaceutical analyst for Bank of America.
And in the utility-related world, Germany's SAP has admitted to "inappropriate downloads" from its chief competitor, Oracle, which calls the matter "corporate theft on a grade scale." Meantime, thieves just hit Brazil's state-run oil enterprise known as Petrobras when they stole four notebooks and two hard drives. The computers had confidential information about new and massive oil discoveries in Brazil's Santos Basin.
"A company should conduct a risk assessment to identify vulnerabilities, and the probability that someone will exploit those vulnerabilities and obtain sensitive information," says the SANS Institute, in a white paper.
Illegally Revealed
If private data are illegally revealed, businesses can request criminal investigations that are guaranteed by the Economic Espionage Act of 1996. That law doesn't just shield classified information. It also protects corporate information and gives prosecutors broad discretion to file cases. Before it would get to that point, though, the U.S. Department of Justice advises companies to defend themselves by using encrypted safety codes and legitimate monitoring techniques.
Ira Winkler, global security strategist at CSC Consulting, spoke to Computerworld's Premier 100 Information Technology Conference and said that criminals often have more success through "social engineering" as opposed to computer engineering. Computerworld cites the example whereby Winkler persuaded a guard to admit him into a protected area by saying he lost his badge and presenting, instead, a business card he had picked up. He went on to find several voids in security that included unlocked doors, all of which Winkler says potentially compromised nuclear reactor designs.
"Spies are interested in information, not just computers," he said in the Computerworld story. "You can protect a computer perfectly, but if someone throws out a classified printout, you are out of luck."
Utilities are vulnerable. Not only do they have enemies such as angry former employees, customers and landowners, but they are increasingly using automated technologies that put them in possession of bank account data or credit card numbers. Companies and hackers are always trying to outsmart one another, although about 30 states have tried to mitigate the harmful effect of unlawfully selling confidential information by requiring companies that have been breached to warn the affected communities.
According to a study by the American Society for Industrial Security and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, proprietary information stolen at Fortune 1000 companies has steadily increased from $24 billion a year in 1995 to at least double that now. Meantime, Fortune 2000 companies experience theft 2 or 3 times a year, other experts say, adding billions more in losses.
Oftentimes, they are unaware. In the case of utilities, the total interconnectivity of networks through the internet has given hackers new ways to get vital information. That's why the North American Electric Reliability Corporation has developed standards for utilities when it comes to protection of their information systems. Indeed, power grids are susceptible to not just worms and viruses that can disrupt business but also to large-scale onslaughts intent on shutting down systems completely.
Beyond cyber threats, companies must keep classified information restricted while requiring employees to sign agreements prohibiting the unlawful use of company trade secrets. Those secrets may include anything that a company knows that is unknown in the marketplace, which gives it an uncommon competitive advantage. "Companies must identify what information is sensitive and classify it as such," says the SANS Institute, adding that some information such as research and development is more conspicuous than things like pricing data and customer lists.
Companies must constantly be on guard and protect their most valuable assets. While criminals are now employing sophisticated tools to steal company secrets they are also still using their street smarts. They are succeeding. But so, too, are the companies and the federal laws set up to safeguard American commerce.
Friday, February 29, 2008
BY JANINE ANDERSON
Journal Times
STURTEVANT – A teenager who allegedly helped burglarize a business and then returned two of the stolen items faces an adult felony charge for the crime.
Phillip Matthew Pharr, 17, of Sturtevant, is charged with burglary as party to a crime. If convicted, he could face up to $25,000 in fines and 12 1/2 years imprisonment.
According to court records:
The owner of Rod’s Auto Body called police at 6:40 a.m. Nov. 12 to report a burglary. The owner said his metal safe was missing, a slot machine and game machines had been broken into, and a computer and his .357 magnum handgun had been stolen. A safe inside the bathroom had pry marks on it, and the door had been removed.
Sturtevant police arrested Pharr on Dec. 1. He waived his rights and spoke to officers, said Sturtevant Police Chief Sean Marschke. He reportedly told them he admitted to being part of the group that burglarized the business, but said he did not take anything out of the business. Pharr said two other people were involved in the burglary; no information about charges was available Thursday.
Sturtevant police sent the information to the District Attorney’s Office on Dec. 10; the adult charges were filed Feb. 11, and he appeared in court Thursday. Pharr has been released on a $3,000 signature bond.
MARYLAND STOLEN COMPUTERS RECOVERED The Daily Times - www.delmarvanow.com - Salisbury, Md. SNOW HILL -- Police said they may have found a person they think is linked to at least 10 recent burglaries in Wicomico and Worcester counties. On Monday, the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation, assisted the Wicomico County Bureau of Investigation, executed a search warrant on a Nassawango Hill Road home in Snow Hill. The search warrant was obtained by investigators from the Wicomico County Bureau of Investigation after they identified a juvenile as a suspect in a burglary in Eden.Police link juvenile to 10 to 12 burglaries
During the search investigators recovered stolen property, including a shotgun, SKS assault rifle and television. Investigators interviewed the juvenile who confessed to being involved with numerous burglaries in Worcester County, police said.
All of the burglaries were in the Snow Hill area and on the following roads: Nassawango Hill Drive, Spenser, Laws and Public Landing roads and Dogwood Drive. The burglaries took place during the last few months and it's believed that the juvenile was involved in 10 to 12 burglaries, police said.
The juvenile admitted to selling the stolen items, and investigators have recovered numerous stolen computers, televisions and other items, police said. The investigation continues.
Call 410-352-3476.
US THE NO-TECH HACKER The No-Tech Hacker - Forbes.com
Cyber Security
The No-Tech Hacker
Andy Greenberg 02.29.08, 6:00 AM ET
Hackers have a lot of fancy names for the technical exploits they use to gain access to a company's networks: cross-site scripting, buffer overflows or the particularly evil-sounding SQL injection, to name a few. But Johnny Long prefers a simpler entry point for data theft: the emergency exit door.
"By law, employees have to be able to leave a building without showing credentials," Long says. "So the way out is often the easiest way in."
Case in point: Tasked with stealing data from an ultra-secure building outfitted with proximity card readers, Long opted for an old-fashioned approach. Instead of looking for vulnerabilities in the company's networks or trying to hack the card readers at the building's doors, he and another hacker shimmied a wet washcloth on a hanger through a thin gap in one of its exits. Flopping the washcloth around, they triggered a touch-sensitive metal plate that opened the door and gave them free roam of the building. "We defeated millions of dollars of security with a piece of wire and a washcloth," Long recalls, gleefully.
In other instances, Long has joined employees on a smoke break, chatted with them casually, and then followed them into the building. Sometimes stealing data is as simple as wearing a convincing hard hat or walking onto a loading dock, before accessing an unsecuredcomputer or photocopying a few sensitive documents and walking out the front door.
In Pictures: Hacking Without Technology
Fortunately for his victims, the companies that Long invades are also his customers. As a penetration tester for Computer Sciences Corporation (nyse: CSC - news - people ) security team, Long is paid to probe weak points in a company's information security. His job as a "white-hat" hacker is to think like the bad guys--the more evil genius he can summon up, the better.
And if tactics like tailgating an employee through a backdoor or picking a lock with a washcloth don't seem like real hacking, Long would suggest fine-tuning the word's definition. To bring that other side of hacking to the public's attention, he wrote a manual cum manifesto titled No Tech Hacking, which was published this week. The book's goal, aside from pumping Long's already significant notoriety in the world of cyberpunks and script kiddies, is to show that hacking isn't always the realm of high technology.
Instead, he argues, it's still rooted in old-fashioned observation and resourcefulness. To obtain a corporate password, for instance, a hacker can pose as an employee and call a company's help desk or simply look over an employee's shoulder while he's on his laptop at a local cafe. To access a network, Long will photograph an employee, fake his badge or even his uniform, and slip past the front door security to find an unguarded terminal.
That kind of no-tech hacking isn't a new idea, but it's one worth remembering, says Jeff Moss, the organizer of cyber-security conferences Black Hat and Defcon. "There's a tendency in our industry to focus on the latest and most interesting attack," he says. "But Johnny is trying to show that the simple security problems that were spotted a long time ago haven't gone away, and the bad guys will use whatever's available."
That's a lesson that the security industry should heed: The average cost of a data breach rose to more than $6.3 million last year, up from $4.8 million in 2006. And physical security played a growing role: Lost or stolen equipment accounted for about half of those breaches last year.
With those kinds of costs at stake, hiring hackers like Long isn't cheap: For basic vulnerability assessment, CSC, which is based in El Segundo, Calif., charges a minimum of $35,000. For complete penetration testing, which often involves obtaining specific files to demonstrate a firm's security flaws, the team can charge as much as $90,000.
But for the most in-depth hacking missions against well-protected companies, Long and the rest of CSC's security team are also rewarded with the illicit thrill of intrusion. "When you get that James Bond feeling of espionage, it's a huge adrenaline rush," he says. Long admits that the night before a major penetration test, his team often watches the geek thriller Sneakers. "Penetration tests that involve a human element are so much more exciting than sitting in front of a computer screen, poking through a company's firewall."
As a kid in suburban Maryland during the 1980s, Long's hacking career began under less sensational circumstances. Surfing the pre-Web Internet, he browsed bulletin boards looking for pirated copies of video games. To pay for the growing long distance bills from his modem, he started charging his Web surfing to calling card numbers that he found on semi-legal sites. And when those phone-card sites started forcing users to pay for access, he found ways to circumvent the sites' security measures.
Soon, the challenge of bypassing firewalls and accessing distant networks was more interesting than any video game. "I would be on my Commodore 64, talking to a Unix system somewhere far away," Long says. "It was like traveling--the fascination of being in a place with a different culture and speaking a different language."
When he graduated from high school, Long skipped college and got a job at a local university as a systems administrator. Before he was 20, he moved on to a major health insurance provider that was in the midst of bringing its systems onto the Internet. Long wrote up a report detailing all the company's security vulnerabilities. It was ignored by his superiors. Feeling demoralized, he eventually left the company and landed at CSC's offices in Falls Church, Va.
At CSC, Long found his niche. In 1998, for instance, he suggested a simple social engineering method to gain access to a company's server that wasn't attached to the Internet. Long tracked down the name of the company's technical contact person on the Web, and made a phone call to its help desk pretending to be that person. The help desk's staff switched on the server's modem, and CSC's team was inside. "Once I connected with the security team, I brought some of the perspective that the security community was just starting to get then, a street-level hacker mentality," Long says.
From there, CSC began to experiment with the physical security hacks it uses today, and Long began developing a set of techniques he calls "Google Hacking": using simple search engine queries to find hackable vulnerabilities in Web sites. (See: " Google: A Hacker's Best Friend") Today CSC has one of the security industry's better-known penetration testing teams, and Long is a celebrity in hacker circles.
Since he first became a professional penetration tester, cyber-security has evolved dramatically, Long says. No Tech Hacking is partly about the latest social engineering methods used by a new generation of cyber-criminals. Instead of searching for holes in companies' increasingly tight security perimeters, their attacks are about drawing the target out, bringing employees to a compromised Web site that infects their network, or convincing an administrator to give up his or her password in an e-mail.
But the other lesson of the book , Long says, is that some things haven't changed. "No matter how savvy we think we are, the oldest attacks are still possible, and they're still prevalent," he says. "The smartest systems are still falling for simple tricks, and that's what keeps us in business."
CALIFORNIA COMPUTER EQUIPMENT STOLEN Theft suspect arrested after returning to scene - San Jose Mercury News: "#
TUESDAY, FEB. 27
# BURGLARY -- Someone entered the Century 21 office on Everett Street via an unlocked window and cameras and stole computer equipment, police said. The burglar then exited through the front door. The theft was discovered about 7:30 a.m. and it happened sometime after 6:30 p.m. on Monday. A burglar also stole the cash register from the Valero service station on Park Street, shattering a glass door with a brick before entering the business. It took place between 11 p.m. on Monday and about 4 a.m. on Tuesday.
IOWA COMPUTER STOLEN FROM UNIVERSITY BUILDING press-citizen.com | Local News
Friday, February 29, 2008
Man charged with computer theft
A University of Iowa student was arrested Wednesday for stealing a computer from a university building.
According to the University of Iowa Department of Public Safety, David Charles Southwick, 20, of 734 Stanley Hall, took a Mac G5 desktop computer from a room in the Lindquist Center on Feb. 16. Southwick then allegedly brought the computer to his dorm room at Stanley Hall.
An officer went to Southwick's room and was allowed in where the computer was sitting on his desk. Police said Southwick admitted to taking the computer.
Southwick was charged with second-degree theft, a class D felony. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and a fine ranging from $750 to $7,500.
Police Blotter -- baltimoresun.com
MARYLAND COMPUTER STOLEN Police Blotter -- baltimoresun.com:
Northern
Theft // A Johns Hopkins University student reported that his laptop computer was stolen at the Charles Village Pub in the 3100 block of St. Paul St. between 2 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. The computer was valued at $1,200.
UK COMPUTERS STOLEN Shetland Thief Is Jailed - The Daily Record
Shetland Thief Is Jailed
Feb 29 2008 By Bob Dow
A SNEAK-THIEF who forced an island to change its way of life was jailed for two years yesterday.
John Gibson stole from so many homes on Shetland that islanders finally started locking their doors.
Gibson, 31, made a public apology yesterday after Lerwick Sheriff Court heard he stole kids' Christmas presents, a charity collection box, mailbags, bank cards and laptop computers while on bail for other offences.
Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said Gibson's offences between last September and February this year had "a continuing and damaging effect".
He added: "Because of his presence, people can no longer have their houses unlocked, but also have to lock themselves in."
Speaking from the dock, Gibson, of Leslie Road, Lerwick, said: "I put up my hands to what I did. I am ashamed of that."
Gibson also admitted stealing £5000 from a house in Lerwick last July.
Sheriff Graeme Napier said: "Nothing has stopped you offending.
"Prison gives some respite to the community."
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Eight engineering students held for theft in college lab
Divyesh Singh
Friday, February 29, 2008 03:42 IST
MUMBAI: Eight students from the Vidya Prasak Mandal Polytechnic in Thane were arrested by the Thane Town police for allegedly stealing LCD screens, CPUs, and other hardware from the college’scomputer laboratory.
Mahesh Surve, 21, a third-year student, was caught by a security guard at 6.45 pm on Wednesday when he was allegedly trying to leave the premises with two LCDs and a scanner in a bag.
Bharat More was on his routine rounds when he noticed Surve enter the college with a small bag. Later, he said, he saw Surve leaving by the back door with a big bag. When More asked him what was in the bag, Surve kept quiet. So More took him and the bag to the chemical lab on the ground-floor and opened it. Finding two LCD screens and a scanner inside, he informed the college authorities.
The authorities checked and found that several other items were missing from the laboratory. Finally, Surve was handed over to the Thane Town police. On questioning, the police learnt that seven other students from the college were involved in the thefts.
The other arrested students are Siddesh Rawat, 19, Shrikant Humnabadkar, 21, Sunil Bagul, 21, Pushkar, 19, Sandesh Sawant, 21, Rahul Sanas, 20, and Rohit Telgu, 21. The police have seized 11 LCDs, one scanner, two mouses, one keyboard, and three CPUs from them.
Sub-inspector PM Mujawar said the students had got a duplicate key of the computer lab made, which they used to sneak inside and steal equipment. The eight students have been remanded in police custody till Friday.
CALIFORNIA COMPUTER THIEVES CAUGHT San Clemente Times - Local News You Can Use
Men Arrested in Connection to SC Burglaries
February 28, 2008
Vol. 3, Issue 9, February 28–March 5, 2008
THE LATEST: Authorities have arrested two men believed to be responsible for burglarizing at least a dozen homes in Talega and Forster Ranch since November while the residents slept. “They waited until they went to bed, broke into the downstairs and took computers , electronics and loose items, like wallets and purses,” said Investigator Marcus Carter of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. No further burglaries of this nature have been reported since the arrests.
Aaron Johnson, 20, originally of San Clemente was arrested on January 16 when he was caught driving a stolen vehicle in Oceanside. After he was apprehended, deputies found stolen property in his possession linking him to the San Clemente burglaries.
Machello Jones, 27, was arrested on January 23 at a San Clemente apartment. Jones, who Carter says has a long rap sheet, was linked to the burglaries after investigators found his fingerprints at the scene.
According to Carter, Johnson and Jones are believed to be involved with the dozen burglaries because of the similarities of the crimes. In each of the reports the burglars waited for residents to sleep before breaking into the home. Carter believes the computers and electronics stolen were later sold. “We’re still going to follow up and trying to find the property,” he said. “As soon as they stole [the electronics] I’m pretty sure they were gone.”
The apprehension of the two suspects drew praise from San Clemente Mayor Joe Anderson who lauded investigators for their efforts. “I am relieved to see the residential burglaries come to a stop as a result of the recent arrests and thankful to have the Orange County Sheriff’s Department patrolling our community,” he said.
WHAT’S NEXT: Investigators are still looking for more accomplices and attempting to recover stolen property. Carter asks that anyone with information call 949.361.8272.
FIND OUT MORE: www.ocsd.org
—NW
Brazil police recover computers stolen from Petrobras, arrest 4; 'common crime' blamed
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: The theft of oil company computers containing what the president called "state secrets" turned out to be a case of common robbery, police said Thursday
Police arrested four security guards at the port of Macae, a coastal city in Rio de Janeiro state, and recovered laptops and hard drives that werestolen from a container at a Petroleo Brasileiro SA port storage site earlier this month, federal police inspector Valdinho Jacinto Caetano said.
The robbery of information about two major oil and gas finds reverberated at the highest levels of the government. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva described the lost data as "state secrets."
The stolen equipment owned by Petrobras contractor Halliburton Co. contained confidential Petrobras data on Brazil's latest deep-water finds: The Tupi field in the Atlantic Ocean, which Petrobras says has much as 8 billion barrels of light crude, and the Jupiter field off the coast of Rio, which could be just as big.
The suspects, employees of a security company hired by Petrobras to guard the port, had been carrying out small thefts since September that went unnoticed until the computers disappeared, Caetano said. They face charges of criminal conspiracy.
"This was a common crime," he added. "They didn't have the slightest idea of what they had" at first.
Caetano said the guards panicked after realizing what they had taken and destroyed some of it, including a hard drive and monitor. Petrobras in a statement praised police for solving the case but did not say whether it had imposed new computer equipment security measures because of the theft.
Authorities initially said the equipment was stolen from a container being transported by Houston-based oil services firm Halliburton from an offshore rig to the city of Macae, where much of Petrobras' offshore exploration effort is centered.
Some of the equipment was still missing, and Caetano said police were seeking several people who may have received stolen goods from the guards.
At a news conference at federal police headquarters, Caetano justified his earlier characterization of the theft as a case of industrial espionage.
"I said at the beginning, no hypothesis was being ruled out, and in cases like this you have to assume the worst," he said. "Police now consider the case clarified, resolved."
___
AP Business Writer Alan Clendenning contributed from Sao PauloPENNSYLVANIA COMPUTER STOLEN The Sentinel Online : News
Laptop reported stolen
State police at Newport are investigating the theft of a laptop computer from an apartment at Perry Manor on Martin Drive in Oliver Township.
The computer was a Dell Inspiron, blue and black in color, police said. It was stolen between 1:40 and 3 p.m. Friday.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call state police at 567-3110, or Perry County Crime Stoppers at 1-866-210-8477.
Arrest Made In Rockingham County Church Theft
Jessica Cook and Bobby Perdue II are accused of breaking into and stealing items from the Gideon Grove United Methodist Church in Stokesdale.
Stokesdale, NC -- Rockingham County Sheriff's Deputies have arrested two people in connection to a break-in and burglary from a Stokesdale church.
Jessica Lynn Cook, 23 and Bobby Jonathan Perdue II, 19 were arrested and charged with felony breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering, and felony possession of stolen goods.
Cook and Perdue are accused of breaking into the church and stealing coins, a keyboard, radio, computer, as well as several canned food items.
The arrest was made through information received through the county's Crimestopper line. Bond was set at $15,000 and their first court date will be March 10.
Source: WFMY News 2
Copyright: 2008 digtriad.com
Oakland’s theft problem: Can it be stopped? - The Education Report - Katy Murphy covers what’s going on in the Oakland schools
Oakand’s theft problem: Can it be stopped?
By Katy Murphy
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008 at 2:31 pm in finances, investigations, safety.
Matthew Green, a former journalism teacher at Fremont Federation’s Media High School, wrote a compelling story for the East Bay Express about the continual theft of computers and other equipment from Oakland’s public schools.
Daniel Hurst, principal of Fremont’s College Prep & Architecture Academy, told Green that the school loses $50,000 a year, easily, because of break-ins. Hurst was quoted as saying that the phenomenon was “the cost of doing school in this environment.”
Last summer, after someone swiped 18 brand new Macintosh computers from a locked case on the McClymonds campus, Tribune reporter Jennifer Scholtes did a clip search and found quite a few theft reports.
At the time, then-OUSD spokesman Alex Katz told Scholtes: “There are very limited resources, and we also have 118 school sites. If someone is really determined to break into a school and steal from children, there isn’t much we can do to stop them.”
Is there?
Should the district spend precious resources to hire security to keep watch over the campuses at nights and on weekends, when most of the thefts happen? What, if anything, can be done so that widespreadtheft is no longer a cost of doing education in Oakland?
image from Torley’s profile at flickr.com/creativecommons
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ALABAMA COMPUTERS STOLEN Jacksonville News - Problems at The Grove
News staff writer
“One thing I was concerned about was my safety. Coming for my first year in college I didn’t know how it was going to be,” said Brooke, adding that she and her mother had been impressed by The Grove’s claims of a security gate and 24-hour security. The 18-year-old moved into The Grove last August, just before the start of her first semester at Jacksonville State University. Less than two months later, on Oct. 9, Brooke’s car was broken into and her car stereo and speakers werestolen. Sometime during the early morning hours of Feb. 15, her apartment door was kicked in and her laptop computer stolen along with that of her roommate. Luckily, Brooke and each of her roommates were spending the night elsewhere. “Her [Amber] and my other roommate Sarah were in Atlanta, Valentine’s Day night and I had to work Valentine’s Day night,” said Brooke, who works in Oxford and didn’t get home until midnight. “I almost stayed here and I’m glad I didn’t. I left around 2 a.m. and went and stayed with my boyfriend.” The next day she went straight to work and didn’t discover the break-in until that evening when she came home. She and her roommates Amber Turley and Sarah Hayes plan to move to Atlanta this summer when their lease is up. They have already begun to look at apartments and one of their main focuses is security – cameras and lights in the parking lots and a gate at the entrance are high on their list of must-haves for their new home. Turley and Hayes both lived at Jacksonville Place last year, but moved to The Grove in August because they felt it would be more secure. “It was new, up to date, they said there was going to be a security gate. Jacksonville Place was getting bad, that is where I lived last year,” said Turley. “I thought I would be safe.” The three girls share a three-bedroom apartment, but each bedroom has its own bathroom and a lock on the bedroom door. The locks for Turley and Brooke, however, don’t do any good. The girls have never had keys to them. Problems at Jacksonville’s apartment complexes are not new, nor are they confined to The Grove and its neighbor, Jacksonville Place. Those two apartment complexes, however, tend to have the most crime. Of the 157 incidents that have occurred at apartments throughout town since August, the majority happened at The Grove and Jacksonville Place, 52 and 67 incidents respectively. Since it opened, The Grove has employed off-duty police officers to work security. In the beginning they were there all day, but now they work 12 hours, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. In light of the number of burglaries and thefts occurring there, Campus Crest Real Estate Management, the owner of The Grove, plans to step up the security. “It is always our protocol to have a gated community and it is the city of Jacksonville that has disallowed this,” said Shannon King, president of Campus Crest. “We are actually in talks with them to try and get that allowed.” King said the wires are already in place to install the gate and the company plans to give proximity devices to all residents staff and emergency personnel who may need to get into the complex. The proximity devices may come in the form of key cards or keychain fobs that automatically open the gate. A possible add-on to the gate mechanism would be a sensor that hears a specific siren pitch, opening the gate for emergency personnel. “The emergency vehicles have a pitch on their horn that triggers activation of the access gate,” said King. They are also evaluating the fence around the property to see what can be done about making the grounds completely inaccessible except through the main entrance. Jacksonville Police Officer Jeremy Penny has worked for The Grove in the past and says the complex has done more than any other in town to ensure the safety and security of their tenants. “In my opinion it is one of the safest or safer complexes because we are patrolling there and we are being seen,” said Penny. “You can’t stop it from happening. Even we were up there 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it’s still going to happen, but it tends to slow it down.” Jacksonville Place is also planning changes to their security. Representatives of the complex met with Jacksonville Police Chief Tommy Thompson last week and told him they want off-duty officers to work security for them as well. They are also looking into car decals, cameras and other ways of ensuring unwanted guests are not hanging out in their parking lots. Management of Jacksonville Place changed recently when Education Realty Trust terminated the lease of Place Properties, Inc., the company that had been managing Jacksonville Place and 12 other ERT properties since January 2006. | ||
| |
About Jennifer Bacchus
| | Jennifer Bacchus is a staff writer at The Jacksonville News. She can be reached at 256-435-5021 or via e-mail at jbacchus@jaxnews.com |
| Phone: E-mail: | 256-435-5021 jbacchus@jaxnews.com |
MICRONESIA COMPUTER THIEF SENTENCED TO JAIL TERM Marianas Variety
Man gets jail term for stealing CHC computer
By Cherrie Anne E. Villahermosa
Variety News Staff
The man who stole a computer belonging to Commonwealth Health Center has entered a guilty plea to the charge and was sentenced to 120 days of imprisonment.
Hilario Teigita Angui, 24, who has been in custody since Nov. 10, 2007 will be released from the Department of Corrections on March 9, 2008 at 4 p.m.
Angui appeared in court for a change of plea hearing on Feb. 27 and was represented by Assistant Public Defender Douglas Hartig.
Assistant Attorney General Joseph Taijeron appeared on behalf of the government.
Angui entered a guilty plea to one count of theft as charged in count one of the information.
Judge Juan T. Lizama accepted his plea and sentenced him to two years of imprisonment, all suspended except for 120 days with credit for time served since Nov. 10, 2007.
Angui was placed on supervised probation for two years and was ordered to pay a fine of $200 and a court assessment fee of $25.
He will perform 100 hours of community work service, write a letter of apology to CHC, and stay away from the hospital unless he is a patient or a visitor.
Angui was ordered to pay a restitution fee in the amount of $2,800.
His review hearing was set for Aug. 28, 2008 at 1:30 pm.
Angui was charged with two counts of theft for stealing two laptop computers from CHC on Sept. 18 and 19, 2007.
February 28, 2008
Stolen Home Office laptop bought on eBay
Encrypted data found in Bolton PC repair shop
Police are investigating the discovery of a stolen Home Office laptop and confidential encrypted data disk in a Bolton computer repair shop.
The 'owner' of the stolen laptop claimed they bought it on eBay, after the PC was recovered by staff at Leapfrog Computers in Greater Manchester. The Home Office laptop had been taken to Leapfrog for a service, when technicians became suspicious of its provenance.
The Home Office today stressed that the disk was encrypted and that members of the public could not access its confidential contents.
A Home Office spokesman told the Press Association: "We understand that encrypted IT equipment has been handed to Greater Manchester Police.
"Investigations are now under way. It would be inappropriate to comment further."
Speaking to Sky News, Leapfrog's Lee Bevan said: "We put the disk in the drive to see what it was but it was encrypted. Actually, the disk had been hidden inside the computer itself.
"The police seized everything - and my staff and I were interviewed. Luckily, this disk has ended up in the right hands."
A spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police said: "A laptop has been recovered. Inquiries are continuing."
In recent months there have been a spate of government data leaks, following the catastrophic loss of the records of 25 million people by HMRC.
Reacting to the news, Brian Spector, general manager of content protection group, Workshare said: "Nearly 500 government devices have gone missing since 2001, so it was only a matter of time before a confidential disc inadvertently ended up on eBay. Luckily, the public sector finally seems to be learning from repeated mistakes, as the laptop and disc were encrypted.
"Unfortunately accidents like this are not going to stop happening so we can only hope that other government departments follow the Home Office's lead and adopt full disk encryption. Technology that will easily safeguard such confidential data is readily available - the British public needs to know that the government is using it to ensure that all the information it holds on its citizens is secure and properly protected."
ILLINOIS COMPUTER STOLEN The SouthtownStar :: Chicago :: Evergreen Park:
COMPUTER THEFT A computer was stolen Feb. 25 or Feb. 26 from a locked University of Illinois extension office at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, 3857 W. 111th St.
NORTH CAROLINA COMPUTERS STOLEN Police Blotter | StarNewsOnline.com | Star-News | Wilmington, NC
Two burglaries investigated
The New Hanover County Sheriff's Office is investigating two burglaries this week in which thieves entered homes through unlocked doors.
The first occurred Monday afternoon when suspects entered a college student's apartment off Halyburton Memorial Parkway and stole a Dell laptop computer, according to the incident report.
On Tuesday, a Bay Blossom Drive resident told deputies thieves entered his home and stole watches, an I-Pod, a laptop computer and a Sig Sauer .40-caliber handgun, according to an incident report.
Thieves strike in break-ins
Wilmington police received reports of four burglaries Tuesday afternoon in which computers, cameras, televisions and video game equipment were stolen.
MINNESOTA COMPUTERS STOLEN DL-Online | Crime report:
Sunday, Feb. 24
-- At 1:43 p.m. a woman at Mountain View Estates reported the theft of a Sony Vio laptop computer valued at $800.
Monday, Feb. 25
-- At 10:36 a.m. a theft was reported at Community Development Bank of Ogema. Two laptop computers were stolen sometime after Feb. 2.
VIETNAM NEARLY 1000 THOUSAND COMPUTERS STOLEN Vietnam latest news - Thanh Nien Daily
Delta schools lose 1,000 computers to burglars | |||||||
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The heads of many of these schools suspect the criminals are highly professional since they managed the burglaries without messing up the crime scenes. Tran Thi Ngoc Suong, principal of Can Tho City’s Thot Not High School, said it had been difficult to even realize that some machines had been stolen. Some of the burglaries had happened despite the presence of security personnel and equipment, the victims said. Many students have been forced to learn about computers without working on them and this has reportedly affected the provinces’ computer education target. Authorities plan to buy more computers to install at the schools. They have also asked local administrations to increase security, according to Luu Thanh Cong, vice director of Vinh Long Province’s Education and Training Department. Schools in Vinh Long were the first to notice the thefts. It started at a vocational school which lost six machines last January. Later, five more schools reported losing over 56 computers and parts from 40 others. Bui Huy Nguyen, head of Nguyen Thong High School, said ten computers had been burgled despite the presence of three guards. When they heard about these cases, educational authorities in Can Tho City warned local schools to be on the lookout. But the thieves hit two schools soon after. Gates, guards, no protection Tran Thi Ngoc Suong, head of Thot Not High School, said: “The thieves took 15 of our 25 computers just two days before steel folding gates were to be installed for the computer room.” This school also had three guards on duty when the thieves struck. Phan Van Tri, the other high school that was burgled, lost nine computers despite having steel folding gates for its computer room. Three high schools in Bac Lieu Province fell victim to the thieves too. Ninh Thanh Loi High School in Hong Dan Ward in Bac Lieu Province lost 22 of its 25 computers despite having steel gates and grills and the computer room being situated on the second floor. The school did not discover the burglary until a teacher checked the computer system since there was no trace of anyone having entered the room, according to Bui Trong Khanh, the school’s principal. At Ngan Dua High School, 20 kilometers away, the burglars were almost caught four days later. The guards caught them carrying the computers out but the burglars managed to escape leaving 24 computers behind. But the same night the criminals managed to steal a server at another school ten kilometers away. Trac Van Day, vice director of Bac Lieu Province’s Education and Training Department, said they must be familiar with the local terrain since “it is hard for a stranger to know the computers’ locations”. | |||||||
A Melbourne couple have begged burglars to return photographs of their gravely ill baby.
Paul and Martine, who did not want their surname used, spent much of yesterday at Monash Medical Centre after doctors told them four-month-old Ava, who has a rare form of congenital emphysema, might not live through the night.
Doctors managed to stabilise Ava who was diagnosed with the lung disease a couple of months ago. She has been in intesive care for the past two weeks.
But when the young couple returned to their Whitehorse Road home in Nunawading around 11pm, they discovered they had been robbed.
Among items stolen were a Nikon digital camera, videos and a laptop computer containing some of their most precious photographs of Ava.
Their Mazda car was also stolen but was later found in Blackburn.
Today, the distraught couple - who also have three boys aged seven, six and four - begged those responsible to return the items, particularly the photo memory cards to police.
"Thinking about what's gone, and comparing it to Ava, it doesn't matter," Paul said tearfully.
"(But) there was a lot of (photos) of Ava."
"We were concerned about Ava going home. We got home and our gates were wide open and the car was missing from the driveway and the front door was wide open."
Martine, 35, said the prognosis for her baby was not good.
"If she gets through this then we have to hope she grows enough new lung tissue, but they told us this morning it’s not looking good,” she said.
Senior Constable Adam West from Victoria Police appealed for anyone who had the items to drop them at any police station.
"It's a disgraceful act for anyone to break into another person's house and take their property," Constable West said.
"In this particular case with all the emotion involved and with the value of the pictures to the family, we just want those pictures back.
"Someone out there somewhere must know who has these items and where they are."
He said the burglary occurred yesterday between 9.20am and 10.40pm.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
2 computers stolen from school in Bordentown City
Burlington County Times
BORDENTOWN CITY — Two new laptop computers were stolen Monday from the St. Mary’s School on Crosswicks Street, police said.
The computers were taken from the school’s main office about 10:45 a.m. The computers, which had a combined value of $1,333, were still in their original shipping boxes, police said.
OKLAHOMA COMPUTER STOLEN Tahlequah Daily Press - Pair accused of concealing stolen items
February 27, 2008 03:09 pm
By BOB GIBBINS
| |
Eric Avery, 26, and Patricia Bertram, 42, were booked for concealing stolen property. Special District Judge Sandy Crosslin set appearance bonds of $5,000 bonds on Avery and Bertram.
A probable cause affidavit by TPD Detective Jeff Haney states Avery and Bertram took a Dell computer into a local pawn shop and sold it for $75.
The computer had been stolen about 20 minutes before Haney was called by the pawn shop. Items from the victim’s refrigerator and her friend’s television were also taken.
The affidavit states Bertram sold the computer for Avery, and got $20 for doing so. Bertram told pawn shop employees she had owned the computer for two years, according to Haney’s affidavit.
The pair also allegedly tried to sell the television, but the pawn shop wouldn’t take it. The TV was recovered by police.
Avery refused to speak with Haney about the property, the affidavit states. Formal charges will be filed in district court.
COLORADO COMPUTERS STOLEN Police blotter: Wallet lost from car roof > Crime > Stories > Denver > YourHub.com
Incidents reported by Denver Police
Police investigated the burglary of a law office at 645 Grant St., reported at 9 a.m. Feb. 20. The burglary is believed to have occurred between 5 p.m. Feb. 8 and 1 p.m. Feb. 10. The stolen items included a Toshiba laptop computer , grey leather jacket, a suede winter coat, a flat-screen television, two gold rings, a gold watch, two other watches, a Trek bicycle, digital camera, a video camera, a shotgun, prescription medications and personal checks. There was no immediate estimate of the value of the stolen items.
A Thornton man reported the theft of items valued at $6,700 from his 2003 Dodge truck Feb. 17 while parked on Speer Boulevard at Larimer Street. Between 11 p.m. Feb. 16 and 1 a.m. Feb. 17, someone broke a passenger side window and stole a laptop computer and accessories, a radio/CD player, an amplifier, speakers and speaker box, an iPod, two cases of CDs and $500 cash. Damage was estimated at $300.
NEW ZEALAND COMPUTER STOLEN crime.co.nz
A netballer has lost several medals after her home was burgled.
Waikato Silver Fern Laura Langman lost her gold Commonwealth Games and silver World Netball Championship medals in the break-in. Police say an abundance of other items were taken, including jewellery, sports gear and a lap top computer. They do not believe the medals were specifically targeted.
Senior Sergeant Tim Anderson is hoping the high level of public revulsion shown over the recent theft of the military medals from the Army Museum at Waiouru will be mirrored in this case and pressure applied for their return.
OHIO COMPUTER STOLEN Police blotter from the Little Miami/ Kings Edition of the Pulse Journal:
A set of Sony surround sound speakers, valued at $500; $200 in cash, sewing machine computer software; valued at $2,190; a digital camera, valued at $400; a digital picture frame, valued at $150; a diamond watch and bracelet, valued at $500; a diamond wedding ring, $2,500; a Midlan baseball world series champion gold necklace, valued at $900; a 19-inch Hewlett Packard computer monitor, value unknown; a Hewlett Packard computer, value unknown; and a Toshiba 48-inch television, value unknown; were reported stolen at 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 13 in the 600 block of U.S. 22/ Ohio 3.
UK COMPUTER EQUIPMENT STOLEN Relief as stolen wedding snaps are returned - Larne Today
A LARNE family breathed a sigh of relief this week after a stolen memory card containing wedding photographs was returned.
The card was one of many items stolen from the home of Gerald Crymble, a photographer from Whitehead, the day after Larne couple Catherine Blair and Stewart Boyd tied the knot.Mother-of-the-bride Rachel Blair made an appeal in the Larne Times last week for the safe return of the irreplaceable photographs. Mr Crymble had stored pictures of the wedding in Magheramorne and a reception in the Ross Park Hotel on his laptopcomputer and memory cards. The day after the wedding thieves made off with Canon cameras, lenses, flashguns, accessories, computer equipment and cash. The haul was worth tens of thousands of pounds.
The vast majority of the equipment was returned to Mr Crymble at the end of last week. Catherine and her new husband are still on honeymoon unaware of the drama.
Ronnie Blair, the father-of-the-bride, said that he believed all of his daughter’s wedding pictures have been returned. Catherine and her new husband are back from honeymoon next week. “We have seen a few pictures that were taken of family and friends but we have not as yet seen the official bride and groom pictures,” he said.
Mr Blair suggested that the equipment may have been returned because high-end photographic equipment is a specialist field and “it’s not everybody who would want that. The memory sticks are of very little value - it’s what they contain.”
There was widespread media coverage of the theft and the Blair family’s predicament last week. Following the equipment’s return Mr Crymble told a newspaper that the development was “incredible.”
The full article contains 295 words and appears in Larne Times newspaper.
Last Updated: 27 February 2008 10:31 AM
PENNSYLVANIA COMPUTER STOLEN Police news for Feb. 27 (phillyBurbs.com) | Intelligencer:
Burglaries reported: An iMac computer, several pieces of jewelry, coins and two pairs of sunglasses were stolen from a house on Selner Lane between 9 a.m. and 2:55 p.m. Feb. 13, police said. The items are valued at $4,800. Police said there was no sign of forced entry into the home.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
FLORIDA COMPUTER STOLEN South Lee Police Beat: Feb. 27, 2008 : South Lee : Naples Daily News
-- A Toshiba laptop computer valued at $1,218.98; fishing poles valued at $150; currence valued at $2,00; a Pioneer car stereo valued at $300; a JL Audio amplifier valued at $400; a portable DVD player valued at $75; a camcorder valued at $300; a gold necklace valued at $1,200; a Donney purse valued at $160; a purse valued at $240; a Coach purse valued at $260; a Coach purse valued at $340; a gas can valued at $10; and CCM rollerblades valued at $200 were reported stolen Monday from the 15000 block of S. Pebble Lane in Fort Myers.
UTAH STOLEN COMPUTER WORRIES SLCC STUDENTS Laptop theft worries SLCC students - Salt Lake TribuneLaptop theft worries SLCC studentsArticle Last Updated: 02/26/2008 06:26:49 PM MSTPosted: 6:27 PM- Marty Greenlief is concerned his personal information may have been compromised after a laptop disappeared at Salt Lake Community College.
"I'm upset that they're not telling me everything that happened," the SLCC student said.
Greenlief said the school called him early last week and instructed him to change the password he uses to access his student page on the SLCC Web site due to a possible security breach.
SLCC acknowledged a laptop had been stolen, but spokesman Joy Tlou said the school is still unsure whether the laptop taken from the Continuing Community Education of SLCC's Miller campus in Sandy contained internal log-in information for about 1,000 students, faculty and staff.
"We know which computer it was and we are trying to ascertain what information was on that computer," Tlou said.
Within a matter of hours of the computer's disappearance, the school began to contact all subscribers to the SLCC Web site through telephone calls, e-mails and a notice on the site.
"By the end of the next day, we called more than 25,000 people," he said.
Student Dan Behunin said that although SLCC officials tried to assuage his concerns, he's still worried someone may have access to information on his student account.
"That information is crucial,"Behunin said. "That could ruin you"
Tlou said even if log-in information were on the laptop, it "may or may not have been accessible because of the security measures that were already placed on that machine." "We have done everything we possibly can to make sure everyone is physically safe and that their information is safe," Tlou said. "I can't stress enough that is our No. 1 priority."
He added that the security concern prompted SLCC to accelerate a planned policy change that will require all college personnel to change passwords every 90 days.
WYOMING COMPUTERS STOLEN Wyoming Tribune-Eagle Online : Burns school is target of vandalism
Burns school is target of vandalism
CHEYENNE (WTE) -- Suspects broke into Burns Junior-Senior High early Sunday morning and stole computer equipment worth $20,000 to $30,000.They also took medications from the nurse's office, said Gerry Luce, spokesman for the Laramie County Sheriff's Department.
Burns Junior-Senior High is east of Cheyenne. It is part of Laramie County School District 2.
The Laramie County Sheriff's Department and Burns Town Marshal are investigating.
The thefts included more than 20 Dell laptop computers, two video projection systems and students' personal medications that were stored in the nurse's office, Luce said.
The suspects damaged windows, doors, electronic gear, computers and desks.
One or more of the suspects may be juveniles, based on the school's surveillance video. Investigators are reviewing the video as part of the investigation.
The number of suspects is not being released now because of the investigation.
Luce said he did not know specifically how the juveniles broke into the building or if they are students at the high school.
"Once we gain some additional information, there's a chance young people of all ages could be involved," said Luce, who told the media about the break-in after 3 p.m. Monday.
He referred questions about any impact the theft and vandalism may have had on class activities Monday to Laramie County School District 2 officials.
School went on Monday as usual. But employees closed off the library to put away books that had been pulled onto the floor.
The suspects broke out quite a few outside and inside windows, said LCSD2 Superintendent Marjorie Simineo.
One of the coaches discovered the vandalism on Sunday.
"It's a sad thing to see vindictive acts that really affect students' lives like that," she said.
"Our staff did an awesome job of staying on track and getting things cleaned up and fixed. We're back on board and really didn't miss a beat," she added.
CALIFORNIA COMPUTERS STOLEN Police Blotter - San Jose Mercury News:
PALO ALTO
500 block of Lincoln Avenue, 4:45 p.m. Feb. 23 Computers, iPods and a wireless router were stolen from a residence.
INFORMATION THEFT
GAO Finds Data Protection Lagging
Washington Post Staff WriterTuesday, February 26, 2008; Page A15
Despite a steady stream of embarrassing computer security breaches, many major federal agencies still are doing too little to safeguard the sensitive personal information in their possession, according to congressional investigators.
Only two of 24 agencies studied by the Government Accountability Office in a report released last week had implemented all five security measures recommended by the Office of Management and Budget to protect personal information.
The top performers included the Treasury Department and the Department of Transportation. The worst were the Small Business Administration and the National Science Foundation, neither of which had adopted any of the measures, according to Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), one of two senators who requested the study. But officials at both agencies said yesterday that they had completed most or all of the recommended measures since GAO investigators last visited them in October.
"Since that report, we've followed OMB directives, and we are now up to speed," said Christine Mangi, an SBA spokeswoman.
Coleman and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) asked the GAO to look into how agencies were handling security in 2006 after the disclosure that a Department of Veterans Affairs external hard drive containing Social Security numbers and other personal information on millions of veterans had been stolen from the home of a VA employee. The drive eventually was recovered by police.
"The findings released in this report are very troubling -- indicating that agency after agency has failed to make securing citizens' personal information a high priority," Coleman said in a statement. "We need to know when the agencies are going to have the protections in place to stop the numerous data breaches we have seen over the past few years."
The loss or theft of personal data can inconvenience or embarrass the people whose information is compromised, but the biggest concern is the potential for identity theft and other fraud. In 2006, identity theft of all varieties -- not merely cases associated with federal data breaches -- accounted for $49.3 billion in losses to people and organizations nationwide, according to the GAO report.
At least 19 federal agencies have experienced at least one data breach that could expose employees or members of the public to identity theft, according to the GAO. In March 2006, for instance, a portable data storage device with personal information on more than 207,000 Marines was lost. In July of that year, a laptop was stolen from the car of an employee of the DOT inspector general's office, putting the personal information of 133,000 Florida pilots and other residents at risk.
Agencies are supposed to take steps such as encrypting all data on laptop computers and mobile devices; limiting remote access to authorized users with two methods of authenticating their identity; and documenting when sensitive information is downloaded and by whom.
Most of the 24 agencies examined by the GAO had adopted two or three of the security measures, but few had implemented them all.
George Strawn, chief information officer for the National Science Foundation, said that, contrary to the GAO report, his agency has implemented all or part of all five measures.
"We have been working on this diligently for two or three years and are in pretty good shape," he said. "There will always be more to do and the crooks will always try to get ahead of you, but we have been paying a lot of attention to it and we don't intend to lower our vigilance."
Monday, February 25, 2008
WISCONSIN COMPUTER STOLEN FROM TAX & ACCOUNTING FIRM Wisconsin Office of Privacy Protection
February, 2008
Date Public Notified | Date of Breach | Company | Data Stolen |
February 22, 2008 | February 21, 2008 | Kurt Bischoff Tax & Accounting, Inc. | Names, Addresses, Birthdates, Social Security Numbers, and Bank Account Numbers |
Who’s affected | Details | ||
Approximately 600 individuals had their information compromised. | The office of Kurt Bischoff Tax & Accounting, Inc. was burglarized on February 21, 2008 and had a desktop computer stolen. The computer had personally identifiable information on it, such as names, addresses, birthdates, social security numbers, and bank account numbers. There is a police report on file. | ||
FLORIDA COMPUTERS STOLEN Big safe, jewelry stolen from home - 02/24/2008 - MiamiHerald.com
DAVIE
Home ransacked: Someone entered a home in the 13500 block of Southwest 10th Place through a bedroom window and left through a rear living room door between 6 p.m. Feb. 1 and 5:30 a.m. Feb. 2. According to the homeowner, the thief stole a Dell laptop computer valued at $1,000, a Hewlett-Packard laptop valued at $1,200, $4,000 in cash, a diamond ring valued at $15,000, a wedding band valued at $500, a gold ring valued at $1,500, a Sony digital camera valued at $200, a Metro PCS cellphone valued at $100, a Fendi watch valued at $600, a Gucci watch valued at $1,500, a Cartier watch valued at $2,000 and a Movado watch valued at $500.SUNRISE
Laptops lifted: When an inventory conducted at the Wal-Mart at 3306 N. University Dr. on Feb. 5 showed three computers missing, security officials consulted a surveillance tape, which showed a man dressed as an armed security guard removing the laptop computers from their boxes, placing them in a shopping cart and leaving the store. The two Dell Inspiron laptops and an Acer laptop were valued at a total of $2,892.
FLORIDA COMPUTERS STOLEN $125,000 in jewelry stolen in Dania - 02/24/2008 - MiamiHerald.com:
PEMBROKE PARK
Broken computer taken: About 11:15 p.m. Feb. 6, a man entered a home in the 3700 block of Southwest 52nd Avenue through an unlocked sliding glass door and made enough noise to waken the man sleeping in the bedroom. The homeowner told sheriff's deputies he walked into the living room to investigate but was too late to stop the burglar from stealing a broken laptop computer.
PEMBROKE PINES
Home ransacked: Electronic items valued at $2,405 were stolen from an apartment in the 8500 block of Southwest First Street between 5:30 a.m and 5 p.m. Feb. 5. Police said the burglar entered the apartment by prying open the front door. The owner reported the following items stolen: a Sony digital camera, a Gateway laptop computer, six videoFLORIDA COMPUTERS STOLEN Orange County Police Log -- OrlandoSentinel.com
Orlando
JOSEPH STREET, 2700 block, 7 a.m. Feb. 8, someone burglarized a business and stole two laptop computers and other property.
CORRINE DRIVE, 3200 block, 1:37 a.m. Feb. 9, someone burglarized a business and stole two laptop computers.
SOUTH SEMORAN BOULEVARD, 700 block, 5:47 a.m. Feb. 9, someone burglarized a business and stole a TV, laptop computer and three video recorders.
SOUTH HAMPTON DRIVE, 4600 block, 11:35 a.m. Feb. 13, someone burglarized a residence and attempted to steal a laptop computer.
Thieves hit Humane Society shelter
Gulf Coast Humane Society staff were shocked to find one of the Arcadia Street entry gates broken off the track and open Monday morning. Inside the administration building, a locked door had been kicked in to gain entry to a conference room containing over $7,000 in brand new computer equipment and other supplies for the new low-cost public veterinary clinic scheduled to open in March. Fort Myers Police Department was contacted immediately and the investigation remains open.
No animals were harmed as a result of the burglary and all animals have been accounted for.
Delivered to the facility on Friday, the stolen items included a new computer server for the entire facility, two new computers, three computer monitors, and two medical supply storage cabinets. All of these items are necessary to finalize completion of the new low-cost veterinary clinic and this incident has delayed installation of hardware, training of staff, and the availability of services to the community. GCHS administration had specifically allocated funds to pay for these items and was informed Monday that insurance will not cover the loss of this equipment.
Gulf Coast Humane Society must now invest tens of thousands of dollars in replacing the stolen equipment, upgrading outdated security systems, and repairing aging perimeter gates and fences in an effort to protect the animals and other assets.
GCHS administration estimates the actual theft-related expenses to surpass $58,000 in the next couple of months.
The shelter hopes to attain donated security system improvements, much-needed gate and fence repairs, and assistance in replacing the new computer equipment and medical storage cabinets. To donate your professional services or equipment, please call (239) 332-0364 or e-mail aimeelalonde@yahoo.com.
If you have any information pertaining to this theft, Gulf Coast Humane Society asks you to please contact the Fort Myers Police Department at (239) 334-4155.
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND COMPUTERS STOLEN Charlottetown, The Guardian: Local News | Thieves enter home, steal computer, while family sleeping
Thieves enter home, steal computer, while family sleeping
BY STAFF
The Guardian
Police are looking for the brazen thieves who entered a home in Prince County last week while a family was sleeping and made off with a laptop computer.
The theft occurred overnight last Tuesday. It happened at a residence on Route 178, along the Canada Road, in Northam, near Tyne Valley.
The owners of the residence were home at the time the theft occurred but were not aware of the theft until they woke up that morning.
The suspects are believed to have gained access through a door that was left unlocked.
Nothing else is believed to have been taken from the residence.
RCMP is reminding residents to ensure they lock the doors to both vehicle and their residence.
If you have any information in regards to this theft, please call East Prince RCMP at (902) 436-9300 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Charlottetown, The Guardian: Local News | Thieves enter home, steal computer, while family sleeping
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND COMPUTERS STOLEN Charlottetown, The Guardian: Local News | Thieves enter home, steal computer, while family sleeping
Thieves enter home, steal computer, while family sleeping
BY STAFF
The Guardian
Police are looking for the brazen thieves who entered a home in Prince County last week while a family was sleeping and made off with a laptop computer.
The theft occurred overnight last Tuesday. It happened at a residence on Route 178, along the Canada Road, in Northam, near Tyne Valley.
The owners of the residence were home at the time the theft occurred but were not aware of the theft until they woke up that morning.
The suspects are believed to have gained access through a door that was left unlocked.
Nothing else is believed to have been taken from the residence.
RCMP is reminding residents to ensure they lock the doors to both vehicle and their residence.
If you have any information in regards to this theft, please call East Prince RCMP at (902) 436-9300 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
AUSTRALIA STUDENT CHARGED WITH STEALING COMPUTERS Student fronts court on theft | thedaily.com.au
A FORMER Matthew Flinders Anglican College prefect who broke into a classroom and stole computers worth more than $20,000 faced the music in a Maroochydore court yesterday.
Benjamin Joshua Hall, 17, pleaded guilty to unlawful entry and receiving stolen goods.
The court heard Mr Hall and another person went to the school on January 14 and used a key to break into one of the computer labs.
The alarm went off as the pair made their second trip back to the car with the stolen goods.
Nine Dell 630 laptops worth $1000 each and five Fujitsu Lifebook notebook computers each worth $2500 were reported stolen.
Police searched Mr Hall’s home on February 2 where officers found one Dell computer and two Lifebook notebooks.
Defence solicitor Justin Crosby said his client was a high-achieving student, who had been elected as a prefect.
He has since been expelled from the school and is completing Year 12 on the Gold Coast.
Mr Hall was placed on 18 months’ probation and ordered to complete 50 hours of community service. Stolen property fIce and resultant thievery being ignored as Maui issue | Maui News
HAWAII COMPUTER STOLEN Ice and resultant thievery being ignored as Maui issue | Maui News
The Maui News is full of issues like TVRs and the Superferry and presidential elections, and yet the immediate pressing problems of Maui never seem to make the print — rampanttheft on this island.
Here’s my personal tally: My car window has been bashed in while my baby sitter took it for a day hike. My purse was stolen from my car when I walked a few feet away to throw away some trash. My house was broken into for the second time in two years last month. Our door had been crowbarred off its frame. Nobody slept too well that night at my house.
Everything someone could steal was stolen — my computer, my jewelry, electronic stuff, all our tools, even two Honda motorcycles. No police detective has called me back. The patrol officers told me that this was an isolated incident, but I personally know five people whose houses have been broken into. I know several others whose cars have been stripped or otherwise vandalized.
Everybody knows it’s ice that’s the culprit, right? The cops already know the bad guys and gals, but nothing is getting done. It’s only a matter of time before those stealing will cross over to violence.
Why are we settling for a Police Department that either doesn’t care, doesn’t have the ability to fix this or is in with the thieves? Don’t you want it better, Maui? Will you join in the fight for a better life?
I’m sad, going to mad.
Molly Brooke
Haiku 
UGA property is missing - or is it?
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Nearly $150,000 worth of state-owned property was reported stolen from the University of Georgia campus last year.
All sorts of things went missing - from keys valued at a dollar to two bleachers worth $250 to lots of computers valued at thousands of dollars each, according to police reports.
In December alone, $28,806 worth of property was reported stolen to UGA police, including two ATVs valued at $6,994 each, reported missing from the UGA Family Housing Office.
But the theft rate really isn't as bad as the police reports indicate, said UGA's top property officer, Penny Gheesling.
Gheesling, whose job is to keep track of the $690 million worth of property that UGA owns, couldn't give an actual value for what was stolen last year.
But the real value may be about half what was reported, she said.
Much of what is reported as theft is temporarily unaccounted for for some reason, she said.
But if UGA departments can't say where property is, they have to report it as stolen, so the piece of property can be entered on a national database of stolen property. That way, property that really is stolen later can be identified if it shows up somewhere else.
"We won't let them write it off as unaccounted for," she said.
What's stolen, missing or misplaced adds up to a lot in a year.
When the Athens Banner-Herald tallied a year's worth of daily police logs on the UGA Police Department Web site, the theft reports added up to $149,328.
But compared to UGA's total property inventory, that's not a lot, Gheesling said. UGA's inventory lists about 93,000 items, with a total value of about $690 million, she said. Personal computers add up to about $68 million - 35,000 computers.
Based on past history, many of the cameras, computers and dozens of other items from wine to wire reported stolen last year will turn out to be not stolen but actually temporarily mislaid or not accounted for correctly, she said - often some of the same items that are frequently targeted by thieves, such as computers and projectors.
"Computers move around a lot from one person to another," she said.
A professor may get a new computer and turn the older one back to his or her department for reassignment to someone else.
Administrators are supposed to file paperwork when a computer is assigned to a different worker, but they don't always do it, Gheesling said.
Sometimes UGA workers just lose track of things.
For example, in May 2005, an annual inventory in the College of Education showed 41 missing computers. When Gheesling ordered a second inventory, workers found 22 of them in various College of Education offices - but 19 computers remained unaccounted for. Education college officials filed a theft report on what looked like a fairly spectacular heist of around $35,000 worth of goods.
But by August 2005, all but one of the computers were accounted for. A College of Education administrator said at the time that the computers had never been missing. New workers didn't inventory them properly during a massive departmental reorganization in which computers had been moved from floor to floor and office to office in Aderhold Hall, he said.
Another aggravating problem in keeping up with computers is cannibalism, Gheesling said - computer cannibalism.
UGA workers often remove parts from an older computer to fix another broken computer, then get rid of the computer carcass after the usable parts have been removed.
The UGA property office has no way to know what happened to the original cannibalized computer, she said.
UGA has had some spectacular thefts in the past. In 1988, the curator of UGA's Hargrett Rare Books and Manuscripts Library was tried, convicted and sent to prison for stealing rare maps, art prints, books, documents and other items that may have been worth millions of dollars - investigators never were able to ascertain the full extent of what had been stolen.
UGA Police Department investigators recover some stolen items, such as a $6,000 golf cart someone made off with last year and crashed into a brick wall in another part of campus. Officers check with area pawn shops regularly to find stolen UGA property.
But the crimes can be hard to solve, said UGA police Capt. Lisa Boone.
Usually, no one saw the theft. Suspects may number in the hundreds. And since no one may notice something is missing until a mass inventory, the trail may be cold when UGA investigators get the case.
Many buildings routinely are open not only to about 34,000 students and 10,000 UGA workers, but to constant visitors from outside, she said - buildings like Memorial Hall and the Tate Student Center, where officials reported multiple thefts last year.
Gheesling argues theft is relatively rare on the UGA campus, considering just how many valuables are kept on campus.
"By and large, the majority of employees are honest, and they are good stewards of the taxpayers' dollars," Gheesling said.
Gone Missing
University of Georgia property worth nearly $150,000 was reported stolen to the UGA Police Department last year. UGA officials contend the value of public property that gets reported stolen is far less, however, because items like computers sometimes turn out to be misplaced or improperly inventoried.
MONTH VALUE
January $5,792
February $3,040
March $4,418
April $19,716
May $31,486
June $8,904
July $4,404
August $7,555
September $8,075
October $17,223
November $3,909
December $28,806
2007 $149,328
Source: University of Georgia Police Department
Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 022408UTAH (BLOGGER) COMPUTERS STOLEN Robbed!! | Derek Perkins - Seatability CEO & Entrepreneur
I had my laptop and cell phone stolen today. My office was deadbolted, but our cheap upstairs door to the roof was no match for the thieves. They brought a crowbar and pretty easily broke through the door and forced their way in. Luckily, we had our server out of the office for repair, otherwise we would have been in serious trouble if it had been stolen.
The bizarre thing about the whole situation was that they didn’t take any more of our computer equipment. They stole a lot of computers from our neighbors, and they actually unplugged one of our computers and put the monitor on the ground, but didn’t end up taking it. They just took my laptop, plus two cell phones without their chargers. All in all, we got very lucky, but it is still a bummer to have to deal with a stolen laptop. I’m not sure what our insurance policy is, and whether or not with the deductible it will be worth it to even try and deal with.
We got broken into last summer too, but that time they only got into our basement. Both times they threw a bunch of stuff around and made a general mess. The police think that it was the friends of the tattoo parlor next door. Hopefully they can track down the stuff.
I just wish that they’d tear down the building next door because it attracts the worst crowds. It’s been a drug house, and the police have thrown out miscreants multiple times over the past couple years. The owner won’t sell the building, but he won’t maintain it either. It’s frustrating that his lack of attention is costing so many thousands of dollars of damage to the surrounding tenants, yet he doesn’t have to pay for any of it. I just hope that his building is condemned by the city so we can be free.Robbed!! | Derek Perkins - Seatability CEO & Entrepreneur
(BLOGGER) COMPUTERS STOLEN Robbed!! | Derek Perkins - Seatability CEO & Entrepreneur
I had my laptop and cell phone stolen today. My office was deadbolted, but our cheap upstairs door to the roof was no match for the thieves. They brought a crowbar and pretty easily broke through the door and forced their way in. Luckily, we had our server out of the office for repair, otherwise we would have been in serious trouble if it had been stolen.
The bizarre thing about the whole situation was that they didn’t take any more of our computer equipment. They stole a lot of computers from our neighbors, and they actually unplugged one of our computers and put the monitor on the ground, but didn’t end up taking it. They just took my laptop, plus two cell phones without their chargers. All in all, we got very lucky, but it is still a bummer to have to deal with a stolen laptop. I’m not sure what our insurance policy is, and whether or not with the deductible it will be worth it to even try and deal with.
We got broken into last summer too, but that time they only got into our basement. Both times they threw a bunch of stuff around and made a general mess. The police think that it was the friends of the tattoo parlor next door. Hopefully they can track down the stuff.
I just wish that they’d tear down the building next door because it attracts the worst crowds. It’s been a drug house, and the police have thrown out miscreants multiple times over the past couple years. The owner won’t sell the building, but he won’t maintain it either. It’s frustrating that his lack of attention is costing so many thousands of dollars of damage to the surrounding tenants, yet he doesn’t have to pay for any of it. I just hope that his building is condemned by the city so we can be free.COLORADO COMPUTER THIEVES CAUGHT ON CAMERA 9NEWS - Article - Smash & grab computer robberies
AURORA - Police are asking for help identifying three men who robbed the same computer store on two different occasions by smashing in the front glass door to get inside.
The robberies happened on Sept. 6 and Oct. 24, 2007 at the Falcon Computers store located at 18854 E. Hampden Ave. in Aurora. That is just east of Tower Road on Hamden Avenue.
Two suspects smashed the front glass door of the store on Sept. 6, 2007, and stole 5 desktop computers.
On Oct. 24, 2007, police believe the same suspects returned and broke the front glass door again and stole 6 laptop computers.
Only this time the suspects were caught on a surveillance camera outside the store.
Police believe one suspect served as the driver and "lookout" while the other two men went inside to steal computers.
The driver is a white or Hispanic man who is heavy set and is bald.
The other two suspects wore dark clothing and gloves.
Both robberies happened after the store closed; the Sept. 6 robbery happened at 2:40 a.m.
The vehicle the suspects loaded up with the stolen computers is a later model Mazda pickup truck with a camper shell. It had a temporary license plate.
If you know who these men are or know more about the robbery call Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867).
You can remain anonymous and could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000.
Two suspects smashed the front glass door of the store on Sept. 6, 2007, and stole 5 desktop computers.
On Oct. 24, 2007, police believe the same suspects returned and broke the front glass door again and stole 6 laptop computers.
Only this time the suspects were caught on a surveillance camera outside the store.
Police believe one suspect served as the driver and "lookout" while the other two men went inside to steal computers.
The driver is a white or Hispanic man who is heavy set and is bald.
The other two suspects wore dark clothing and gloves.
Both robberies happened after the store closed; the Sept. 6 robbery happened at 2:40 a.m.
The vehicle the suspects loaded up with the stolen computers is a later model Mazda pickup truck with a camper shell. It had a temporary license plate.
If you know who these men are or know more about the robbery call Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867).
You can remain anonymous and could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000.
Computer, video game stolen in break-in
By Jim PattenStaff Writer
HAVERHILL — A break into a Lake Street home netted thieves a laptop computer, a video game console and the Guitar Hero 3 video game, police said. The homeowner told police he was out Thursday, dropping off his son about 2 p.m., and found the break-in when he returned about 4:30 p.m. When he noticed the back door was unlocked he checked the house and noticed an Apple laptop computer valued at $1,600, an XBox 360 video game console valued at $400 and the Guitar Hero 3 video game valued at $80 were missing. The victim told police he found his son's bedroom window open, and it appeared that someone had forced the window screen up and opened the window. He told police he was not sure if the window had been locked.
ILLINOIS COMPUTER THIEVES ARRESTED SJ-R.COM - 3 arrested in UIS vandalism, burglary
Three University of Illinois at Springfield freshmen are in hot water for an alleged vandalism and burglary spree inside a campus building Sunday morning.
The three students were arrested Thursday afternoon and booked into the Sangamon County Jail on criminal damage and burglary charges. They are: Derek D. DeAnda, 19, of Hickory Hills; Jason P. McCleery, 18, of Rushville; and Jeremie C. Morales, 19, of Chicago.
The damage, estimated in the thousands of dollars, occurred throughout the Public Affairs Center.
University officials provided this account:
A fire alarm in the Lincoln Residence Hall, which is freshman and sophomore housing, sounded shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday. Because it was cold and rainy, the students were led to the lower level of the Public Affairs Center to wait until it was determined there was no fire or danger in the residence hall.
While the students were in the center, one of them phoned a friend who lives in Pennyroyal, another student-housing unit, inviting him to join the students waiting at the Public Affairs Center. The Pennyroyal student and two of his friends — all of whom eventually were arrested — went to the center.
About 3:25 a.m., firefighters said the residence hall was clear and allowed the students to return. However, the three Pennyroyal students remained in the center unnoticed.
“While they were there, they went on a rampage on all five floors of the Public Affairs Center,” said university spokeswoman Cheryl Peck.
A police report indicates the men damaged signs and water fountains throughout the building; tried to steal a flat-screen television off the wall near the Food Emporia; stole a variety of equipment, batteries, tools, tapes and other items from the Office of Electronic Media; took an office chair that was in the hallway near an office that was under renovation; removed and crumpled personal photographs from all the frames in an office and threw them on the floor; and stole VCRs, desktop computers, a VHS/DVD player, a computer keyboard and cafeteria trays.
“They would go down the hall and check the doorknobs to see if any offices were open,” Peck said.
The men reportedly used a recycling bin to carry the stolen goods back to the Pennyroyal townhouse.
University police began getting phone calls Sunday morning from people who showed up at the center and discovered the damage and burglarized offices. Reports poured in through Monday morning.
Officers ultimately were able to identify the men from a surveillance camera near the Capital Perks coffee shop on the first level near the Sangamon Auditorium entrance.
Officials still are trying to document all the damage. Peck said everything that was reported stolen has been recovered.
The students were arrested and their parents notified of the situation. Peck said the men have apologized for what happened.
“At this point, discussions will need to take place with the university. We do have a student code of conduct, and it’s the process by which we take disciplinary action,” she said. “Obviously, they are very sorry about what they did. I want to say on behalf of the university and the chancellor that their behavior is very regrettable.”
Peck commended the university police force for its investigation and noted that criminal activity rarely happens on the growing UIS campus.
“We’re very grateful these things don’t happen here very often, thank goodness, and we have a great 24-hour police department,” she said.
Jayette Bolinski can be reached at 788-1530.
CALIFORNIA COMPUTERS STOLEN Police Blotter - San Jose Mercury News REDWOOD CITY Kentucky Street, 2:30 p.m. Feb. 21 Two laptop computers and a game system were stolen from a residence.
PALO ALTO
1000 block of Harker Avenue, 5:49 p.m. Feb. 21 A flat panel television ,computer equipment and an engagement ring were stolen from a residence.
INDIA TWO ARRESTED AFTER COMPUTER EQUIPMENT STOLEN Two brothers held for thefts; stolen goods recovered/Saturday , February 23, 2008 at 01:05:58
Ludhiana, February 22 The Ludhiana Rural police have arrested two brothers, who are members of a thieves’ gang and have recovered stolen household goods worth Rs 1. 87 lakh from them.
According to SSP (Rural), Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, the arrested persons have been identified as Bhagwan Singh alias Bhani and Swaran Singh alias Gori, both brothers and residents of Kacha Kila Raikot. The duo was arrested yesterday.
SSP Bhullar said that the arrested duo had confessed to their involvement in some theft cases. On the intervening night of January 6 and 7, they had committed theft in the a hospital in Raikot. They stole a refrigerator, computer monitor, 15 “ CPU, printer, computer chair, light microscope tube-set, wall clock, stamps and curtains after breaking the doors. In this connection, a theft case was registered at Raikot police station.
Similarly on the intervening night of February 13 and 14, they had stolen one rented generator, 25 bags of cement and cutter etc. from the newly-built house of Jagdev Singh of Santokh Nagar in Raikot. The Raikot police had registered atheft case in this regard.
Bhullar said that on the intervening night of February 12 and 13, they had stolen one washing machine, one tulu water pump etc. from the house of Jasvir Singh of Kacha Kila in Raikot. They had also stolen an airconditioner, some clothes, water taps and iron gate from the house of Jaswant Singh of Kacha Kila Raikot. Besides, they also stole a colour TV, a CD player, a gas cylinder along with accessories, from the house of Balvir Singh of Guru Nanakpura colony in Raikot.
Bhullar said that with the arrest of the duo, four cases of theft had been solved and stolen goods worth Rs 1,87,000 had been recovered. Further investigation was in progress and some more sensational clues were expected, SSP added.
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February 27th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
This is one of the reasons DH stopped building and giving away computers from donated spare parts. It’s really, really painful to give a kid (or a classroom) a computer, and then have it disappear.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
Many of these thefts are inside jobs! Our school was broken into using a key, and then the thieves tried to make it look like they broke in by shattering a window or two. What about thetheft of the ENTIRE Mac Lab from the district computer center, probably the most secure place in the District? How do you unlock and walk away with 30 enormous iMacs from a secure building without breaking any windows or doors? It is a HUGE problem, and our school is VERY reluctant to replace the $10,000 worth ofstolen computers we’ve lost this year.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
How much of the money to replace stolen equipment comes out of a school’s budget? Does insurance cover some of it?
I’d like to hear your opinions on how essential computer labs are to schools. Do teachers and principals ever think about going `old school’ (textbooks and paper) to reduce the security risk and maintenance costs? I feel like a dinosaur just asking that question, but someone needs to ask it…
Ben Chavis, former principal of the American Indian Public Charter School, told me last year that he decided not to have a computer lab so he could spend money on other things his students needed and the school wouldn’t become a target for theft.
“What are they going to steal? Books?” he asked.
February 28th, 2008 at 7:07 am
The computers were not part of the lab but classroom machines that students use for focused work during class time. Given the Digital Divide that already exists in Oakland and the nation, it is a sad statement that children who attend schools in wealthier neighborhoods have secure access to technology while former Oakland principals like Ben Chavis saw fit to forgo “theft targets” at the expense of his students education . While insurance does cover most of the cost of the stolen items, it still can take several months to process and replace the equipment. It also does nothing for the morale of the teachers and students who discover their classroom vandalized on a recurring basis.
February 28th, 2008 at 7:46 am
I agree that it would be inequitable to have computers in some schools and not in others. It also seems to me that the current situation, with respect to technology, is inequitable as well.
Given the likelihood of theft, and the terrible feeling children and teachers must experience when their classroom is broken into (not to mention months without the equipment), I am just curious about how, exactly,computers are used in schools, and how essential they are to a child’s education.
I should note that Ben Chavis also doubted the educational value of computers. He explained to one of his new hires — in much more colorful language, of course — that his students were far behind in reading and math, and that they could build those skills withoutcomputers. So I don’t think he perceived his decision as detrimental to his students’ education, whether or not it was.
February 28th, 2008 at 9:34 am
A lot of expensive stuff which teachers bought with their own money — laptops, projectors, etc. — so they can do their job is alsostolen, leading to despair and frustration and contributing to teacher burnout.
The value of computers in schools can easily be overstated. However, in today’s world, if you can’t manipulate Windows, type papers and do research online, you are not ready for the office or college.
February 28th, 2008 at 9:56 am
War Zone Ghetto Schools should hardly be stocked with expensive goods. The best equipment should be at the schools that are not populated by “troubled” types and that are in safer neighborhoods.
That goes for the teacher materials also. You don’t take a nice car into a bad neighborhood and park it - same thing with teacher owner property, materials and commuter vehicles.
Equity is not the issue. Practicality is. You don’t put nice things in the ghetto because it’s a waste of time and money to do so. It’s not like the ghetto doesn’t like being the ghetto.
February 28th, 2008 at 10:58 am
During all the years I have subbed in Oakland,I have almost NEVER seen students use computers for authorized academic work.They are always on My Space,checking their e-mail or going to music and merchandise sites.
The question I have is:Why is there not some sort of filtering system the school can put in to block these sites?Of course I admonish the students to focus on the proper material but five minutes later they are back to the entertainment sites again!
February 28th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
“it is a sad statement that children who attend schools in wealthier neighborhoods have secure access to technology while former Oakland principals like Ben Chavis saw fit to forgo “theft targets” at the expense of his students education .”
if i remember correctly, Ben Chavis’s school had some of the best test scores, if not the best, in the Oakland…so what’s your point?
computers are not a panacea. it’s a tool and people if need to be taught to use it as such - only if they are open to being taught. if they aren’t then it becomes nothing more than another thing to entertain and distract kids, which unfortunately just about all it is right now, with a few exceptions.
the problem here isn’t poverty or lack of materials - it’s the attitude. go to places where people are REALLY poor…like raw-sewage-running-in-the-streets-poor…living-in-a-shack poor, no-running-water poor and they don’t act like folks here.
there’s a cultural thing to being “poor” in America that you really see other places.
February 28th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Doowhopper: At our school, all computers on the network are blocked from certain sites like MySpace and YouTube.
But to block the entire Internet would be counterproductive.
“Admonishing” students or blocking them are not the best solutions. Accountability for work produced probably is.
Personally, I think the use of computers in schools should be limited to well-policed resource centers like the library or a computer lab. More effective are programs to get cheap machines into kids’ homes. At the high school level, not having a computer at home is a big handicap for any class that requires essays or research.
February 28th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Remember: The big jobs like a whole lab getting ripped off are probably done by adults, some of them employed by OUSD.
February 28th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
In war zones they build cement bunkers, why not re-design Oakland’s ghetto schools accordingly. The computers could be set right into the bunker walls and framed in steel with keyboards set & steel framed into cement blocks. The computer screens could be made of the same clear plastic material used to protect bank tellers at ghetto area bank branches.
Do it, because “a mind is a terrible thing to waste!”
Seriously Sue!