Thousands of Georgetown University students are at risk for identity theft after a computer hard drive containing their names and Social Security numbers was stolen from an office earlier this month, school officials said Tuesday.
The external drive was taken from a locked room within the Office of Student Affairs in the Leavey Center on Jan. 3, said Julie Green Bataille, university spokeswoman. The device contained the names, addresses and Social Security numbers of 38,000 current students, alumni and staff, but did not include any bank, credit card or health records.
Affected students attended the university between 1998 and 2006.
Rachel Yoder, class of 2000, was informed Tuesday that her information was on the drive. It was deja vu: Her personal data was on a computer storage device stolenin Ohio less than a year ago.
“It seems like it’s something that’s becoming more and more common and it is disturbing, but I haven’t seen anything happen, so I haven’t seen what the ramifications are,” Yoder said.
The theft was reported immediately, Bataille said, but it took several weeks to “understand the full nature” of the crime and to reconstruct backup files. The incident remains under investigation by D.C. police.
“Although in this particular instance the data breach was the result of a computer theft and not any kind of system intrusion, it is an unfortunate example of the increasing importance of data security to all of us,” the school said in an e-mail to those affected. “We deeply regret any incident that potentially exposes the sensitive data of members of our community.”
There is no evidence that personal data has been misused, the university said, but about 7,700 current students, 26,000 alumni and 600 faculty and staff are being offered free credit monitoring just in case. Those potentially affected should call 866-740-2458 or visit identity.georgetown.edu for more information.
This is the second incident of identity theft to affect Georgetown University in less than a year.
A computer server that stored the personal information of about 41,000 elderly D.C. residents was compromised last February by a hacker.
Protect yourself
» Limit use of your Social Security number and protect your Social Security card.
» Do not use the last four digits of your SSN, mother’s maiden name or birth date as a password for financial transactions.
» Always review credit card bills and monitor financial accounts.
» Shred financial documents and paperwork.
