14 DAY TRIAL // A computer belonging to the University of Maine containing sensitive information of students enrolled in courses dating to 1999 has been stolen at an airport.
The device has been snatched on February 10 from an checked bag on a flight from Seattle to Boston, along with a media card that was probably plugged in.
Social security numbers exposed
The university says that data of a total of 941 students has been exposed in the incident, suggesting that encryption had not been applied to the hard disk or the removable storage device.
In the case of 604 students, enrolled in physics courses from 1999 to 2007, names, social security numbers, phone numbers, email addresses, grades and course information has been exposed.
The data for the rest of 337 students, who attended the university’s classes between 2000 and 2014, included only names, course name and year.
In the official announcement disclosing the incident the university said that the theft was reported to the airline and the Massachusetts State Police.
As of Wednesday, no evidence has been found that the details have been misused in any way by the perpetrators.
Usually in such cases, the information available on computer devices is not monetized by the thieves as they look to make a buck through a quick sale at a fraction of the value of the stolen product.
However, devices storing sensitive data should have their storage units encrypted in order to prevent unauthorized access to the files. Crooks may start realizing the potential of data trading and profit from selling it to underground forums to increase monetization from the theft.
Complimentary identity protection service offered
University of Maine informs that all students whose social security number is at risk of falling into the wrong hands will benefit from identity protection services for a period of one year, at no cost.
The educational institution has contracted Experian Information Solutions to provide credit monitoring, identity theft insurance and alerts for credit card changes for the affected individuals.
Included in the official statement from the university is a contact for anyone looking for clarifications about the theft and how the subscription to Experian’s services can be activated.