News has gotten out that three laptops which contained social security numbers of 1,400 students, alum, and prospies were stolen from a Columbia University office last week. It turns out this isn't the first time the school has massively and mistakenly divulged the sensitive information of its affiliates—back in 2007 Columbia leaked over 5,000 names and social security numbers via a Google Doc! “I’m not terribly surprised, given that it’s happened before, but at the same time, I can’t believe they let it happen again,” wrote one undergrad in an email to Bwog.
In this most recent incident a thief broke into a locked office sometime after January 18 and nabbed three laptops. But these weren't just any old MacBooks—they were storing the vital information of over 1,000 people connected with the university. The dean addressed the affected parties in an email: “I take responsibility for ensuring that we respond effectively. An effective response requires strengthening the physical security of our spaces and continuing the process of encrypting data.” The school says it will pay for fraud prevention, but some students aren't sold. "It's scary to think someone is walking around with important information of mine," freshman Caitlin Brown told the Daily News.
Three years ago a similar "oops" moment occurred when a former Columbia employee accidentally posted students' housing info online in a Google Doc. That time 5,000 social security numbers were released to the public. The institution of higher learning made reparations with the same offer of fraud protection, but repeated the offense. What kind of lesson is that?
