10,200 SSNs Exposed After Yale Computer Theft
Quick Facts
- Date: 8/8/2007
- Institution: Yale University
- Type of Incident: Theft
- Number Affected: 10,200
- Source: ESI
- Abstract Source: Yale Daily News
Abstract
Yale University is alerting 10,000 current and former students and about 200 staff members over the exposure of Social Security Numbers following the recent theft of two Yale computers. The computers in question were stolen from the Yale College (the undergraduate program) Dean's Office. These two computers contained the names and Social Security numbers of current and former students and some staff members but did not contain any financial information. The stolen computers are password protected and Yale officials believe the risk to individuals is low since the thief was most likely after the computer hardware and not the data. These files were not maintained on these computers for any purpose but were instead overlooked during recent Yale efforts to reduce the amount of PII on personal computers.
