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[UPDATE15]Stolen SunGard Higher Education Laptop Contained Student Information From Multiple Schools

By Adam Dodge - Posted on April 17th, 2008

Quick Facts

Abstract
The Connecticut State University System announced recently that a laptop stolen from SunGard Higher Education, a CSU System vendor, contained information on CSU System students. The laptop contained information such as names and Social Security numbers on 3,400 students from four different CSU System institutions. The affected students had attended Central, Eastern, Southern and Western Connecticut State University between September 2001 and December 2004. The laptop was password-protected but did not have any type of encryption. The information was given to SunGard to perform services for CSU System, but the information was retained longer then needed according to CSU System spokesperson Bernard Kavaler. SunGard Higher Education has setup a web site - www.sungardhe.com/laptoptheft - to help answer any question on the theft.

Update1
Buffalo State College is among the institutions affected by this theft. The stolen SunGard Higher Education laptop contained private information on 16,000 current and former students. The college has plans to begin sending out notification letters to all affected students. Buffalo State College is working closely with SunGard to determine which students were affected by this incident.

Update2
Northwest Missouri State University announced that was among the institutions affected by the SunGard Higher Education laptop theft. The SunGard laptop contained the names, Social Security numbers, and financial aid information on 1,100 Northwest Missouri students. The university is working with SunGard to identify and notify the Northwest Missouri students affected by this incident.

Update3
SUNY Fredonia was the latest university to announce that it has been affected by the theft of the SunGard Higher Education laptop. The stolen laptop contained personal information on 77 current Fredonia students as well as 881 alumni. Fredonia joins Buffalo State as two of the 12 SUNY System campuses affected by this theft.

Update4
Three more State University of New York campuses have announced the potential exposure of student data after the theft of the SunGard Higher Education laptop. SUNY Brockport is reporting a potential exposure of 1,500 records on individuals that included Brockport in their financial aid applications. Brockport is still working with SunGard to determine how many currently enrolled students were affected. According to a Monroe Community College spokesperson, the stolen latop contained personal information on 20 MCC students. The college has already mailed letters of notification to these individuals. The laptop also contained records on at most 950 Jamestown Community College students enrolled between 2001 and 2003. JCC is working closely with SUNY System and SunGard to determine which students are affected by this theft. Outside of the SUNY System, Northwest Michigan College announced that the stolen SunGard laptop contained information on 1,600 students from 2003. The college was just recently informed of the March 13 theft and is working quickly to mail notification letters to the affected individuals.

Update5
Niagara County Community College and Genesee Community College are two more SUNY campuses affected by the SunGard laptop theft. NCCC reports a potential exposure of 1,202 records while GCC reports a potential exposure of only 18 records. In addition to NCC, GCC, Buffalo State, SUNY Fredonia, SUNY Brockport, JCC, and MCC the other SUNY Campuses affected by this incident are: Adirondack Community College, Binghamton University, Downstate Medical Center, Dutchess Community College, Herkimer County Community College and Orange County Community College.

Update6
Binghamton University worked over the weekend to notify 131 individuals about the loss of personal information following the SunGard Higher Education laptop theft last month. In total, the university notified 11 current students and 120 applicants after it determined the SunGard laptop contained their names and Social Security numbers.

Update7
St. John Fisher College officials are working to notify current and prospective students after it was informed by SunGard Higher Education that college information was contained a stolen SunGard laptop. The laptop contained names and Social Security numbers on nearly 2,000 current and prospective students. In the notification letter college officials urge students to monitor their credit and state the SunGard will be offering 12 months of credit monitoring for free. St. John Fisher College has created a web site - www.sjfc.edu/announcements/security.asp - to help answer questions about the incident.

Update8
Meridian Community College recently announced that it was one of the campuses affected by the theft of a laptop belonging to a SunGard Higher Education employee. After working with SunGard, Meridian officials announced that the laptop did contain information, including Social Security numbers, on former Meridian students. Meridian Community College has notified all of the affected students by letter.

Update9
Virginia Tech is the latest university to announce that it was affected by the March 13th theft of a SunGard Higher Education laptop. The SunGard laptop contained information on It is not known who many individuals associated with VT were affected by this incident. According to VT Director of News & Information Mark Owczarski, the laptop contained personal information on individuals at Virginia Tech in 2000.

Update10
Argosy University sent letters to 5,500 students informing them that their personal information was contained on the SunGard Higher Education laptop that was stolen in March. According to the university individuals that may have applied for financial aid during 2001, 2002 or 2004 are affected.

Update11
Yeshiva University is alerting former students of the university's Benjamin N Cardozo School of Law about a potential exposure of personal information. SunGard Higher Education notified Yeshiva that a laptop stolen from one of SunGard's employees contained Yeshiva student information such as names, Social Security numbers, student loan identification numbers, other financial aid information and other data related to students status and enrollment at the Cardozo School of Law.

Update12
Herkimer County Community College announced that it was affected by the March SunGard laptop theft. The names and Social Security numbers of an unknown number of HCCC students.

Update13
PogoWasRight.org was able to obtain letter sent by St. John's University to the Maryland Attorney General's office notifying the state that the personal information of at least one Maryland student at St. John's was contained on the stolen SunGard laptop. According to the letter, the laptop appears to have contained St. John's student information such as name and Social Security number from 2001.

Update14
PogoWasRight.org was able to obtain letter sent by Bryant & Stratton College to the Maryland Attorney General's office notifying the state that the personal information of at least one Maryland student at Bryant & Stratton was contained on the stolen SunGard laptop. The information on Bryant & Stratton College students included names, address and Social Security numbers.

Update15
The total number of affected HCCC students is 6,000.

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