Where did the breach take place? University of South Carolina (USC) in Columbia.
What happened? Students' private information was accidentally posted to a website by a former graduate student who was moving files form one web server to another. Washington, D.C.-based privacy nonprofit Liberty Coalition discovered the breach.
How many victims? 1,500 students.
What kind of personal information? Social Security numbers and test scores, among other sensitive data.
What was the response? University officials learned of the breach Tuesday and removed the information in hours. They are now notifying students and referring them to a website and hotline for more information.
Details: Two similar breaches occurred last year at the university.
Quote: "They temporarily put the files on a server where the information was accessible via the internet." - Russ McKinney, USC spokesman.
Source: "1,500 students' data left exposed," Sept. 7, The State (S.C.)
What happened? Students' private information was accidentally posted to a website by a former graduate student who was moving files form one web server to another. Washington, D.C.-based privacy nonprofit Liberty Coalition discovered the breach.
How many victims? 1,500 students.
What kind of personal information? Social Security numbers and test scores, among other sensitive data.
What was the response? University officials learned of the breach Tuesday and removed the information in hours. They are now notifying students and referring them to a website and hotline for more information.
Details: Two similar breaches occurred last year at the university.
Quote: "They temporarily put the files on a server where the information was accessible via the internet." - Russ McKinney, USC spokesman.
Source: "1,500 students' data left exposed," Sept. 7, The State (S.C.)
