 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Security
Alert
|
|||||||
Recent News Laptop theft update College reports theft of laptop with 988 former students’ personal information Press Release: N E W S A D V I S O R Y Metropolitan State College of Denver: March 2, 2007 (Denver, CO)—Metropolitan State College of Denver is working with the Denver and Auraria Police in the investigation of the theft of a computer stolen from campus that contained the names and Social Security numbers of 988 former students. The laptop computer was stolen Feb. 28 in the late afternoon from its docking station in a Metro State faculty member’s office in the Department of Psychology on the Auraria Campus. The case remains under investigation. The stolen computer contained roster information of students enrolled in the faculty member’s classes from the beginning of the 1999 fall semester to the end of the 2002 fall semester. The stolen computer was password protected. The names and Social Security numbers of these students may have been compromised through this theft. The Social Security numbers were used as identifiers of the students as they pertained to the faculty member’s classes. Metro State President Stephen Jordan said that this is a very specific incident. “Last spring, it was mandated that all College reports or studies that access private student information, including Social Security numbers, were to be approved through the President’s Office,” he said, adding, that the College is completing a previously instituted project to have College-owned laptops turned over to the Information Technology division for scanning and encryption of the data contained on their hard drives. “It is critical that all employees respect the privacy of student information,” said Jordan. “We are completing an investigation as to why Social Security numbers continued to remain on the faculty member’s computer. This investigation could lead to disciplinary action,” he added. At this time the College has no evidence that personal data were actually retrieved or misused. However, Metro State is making every reasonable effort to notify by mail all individuals whose names and Social Security numbers were on the computer and, as a precaution, suggest they consider a fraud alert on their credit report. The College has created a special Web site for individuals who are concerned that their information may have been on the stolen computer: www.mscd.edu/securityalert/. The Web site contains helpful phone numbers, information on next steps to take, and links to credit reporting agencies. In addition, the College has a toll-free number at 1-866-737-6622 to answer specific questions not addressed on the Web site. Metro Protect: College institutes policy on storing Social Security, credit card numbers MetroProtect: Laptops often contain more information than we think MetroProtect: Laptop scanning Information Technology launches MetroProtect initiative Security Update: Assessment of IT policies, systems, access on track Security Alert Update: Letters to alumni in mail Security
alert: No laws, policies broken Security
Alert: Open meeting yields new information Security
Alert: Open Meeting Monday, March 6 President
announces computer theft Press Release: M E D I A A D V I S O RYMetro State College to Hold Important Open Meeting TodayMetropolitan State College of Denver will hold an open meeting at 10:30 a.m. today, March 2nd at St. Cajetan’s Center on the Auraria campus. The purpose of this meeting is to share information about a theft of a campus laptop computer that contained files with the names and Social Security numbers of more than 93,000 students enrolled at Metro State College from the beginning of the 1996 fall semester through the end of the 2005 summer semester. The names and Social Security numbers of these students may have been compromised through this theft. The Social Security numbers were used to identify and track individual students and access historical academic information regarding these students. The computer was stolen Feb. 25th from a Metro State College employee's home. The case remains under investigation. At this time the campus has no evidence that personal data were actually retrieved or misused. However, Metro State College is making every reasonable effort to notify by mail all individuals whose names and Social Security numbers were on the computer and, as a precaution, suggest they consider a fraud alert on their credit reports. Because some files go back ten years, the College may not find current addresses for every name on the list. Metro State College has created a special website for individuals who are concerned that their information may have been on the stolen computer: http://www.mscd.edu/securityalert/ This website contains helpful phone numbers, information on next steps to take, and links to credit reporting agencies. In addition, the College has set up a toll-free number to answer specific questions that are not addressed on the website. St Cajetan’s Center is located at 1190 9th Street (9th Street and Lawrence), media parking is available in the round-about area next to the building. For additional information, please contact Cathy Lucas in the Office of College Communications at (303) 556-5131 or (303) 916-1002.
|
| Academics
| Admissions
| Alumni
& Friends | Campus
Life | Computing
on Campus | Search/Directories
|
| News,
Events & the Arts | Current
Students |
Faculty & Staff | Welcome
| Metro
State Home |
Copyright © Metropolitan
State College of Denver