TSU Data breach SSN and financial information
September 27, 2008 – 9:10 am9-12-08
Tennessee State University had a flash drive that had 9,000 students’ financial information and social security numbers go missing. A financial aid counselor reported the flash drive missing on Tuesday morning. She reported it missing when she realized that she no long had it. The last time the flash drive was seen was on Monday night.
TSU after learning about the data breach prepared a statement ensuring that the safety of its student’s information was paramount and that the loss of the data was unfortunate. They have informed the students and parents of the data breach and have assured them that it will not happen again. TSU has encouraged its students to watch out for any possible signs of identity theft and to place a fraud alert on all their credit cards.
As a result of the data loss TSU is going to provide credit protection to all students that have been affected. They are also planning on sending all their staff through a mandatory training program to teach them about safe ways of handling sensitive information.
The flash drive is said to have an encryption on it or at least be password protected. The data breach is currently under investigation by the TSU internal audit team. The employee that lost the data is currently on administrative leave with her job pending on the outcome of the investigation.
Data breaches lead to possible identity theft. Each on of those students could potentially have their identities stolen and their credit ruined before they even leave college. Credit monitoring may not be enough. LifeLock can help prevent identity theft from happening to you. To receive a discount on a LifeLock membership, use the LifeLock Promo Code, Defense.
Tags: Data Breach, flash drive, TSU
