Students and faculty at Florida International University this week are learning a hard lesson shared by so many of their contemporaries around the country in the past year after school officials said an unsecured database exposed their most personal and sensitive information.
As eSecurity Planet discovered, this latest security gaffe at a major university shows just how susceptible American institutions of higher learning are to either accidental or deliberate attempts to access personal information.
Thus far FIU officials say there’s no evidence that any of the unsecured data has been used for identity theft or any other nefarious purpose. The E-Folio software tracked student and faculty performance versus state and national teacher education standards.
FIU officials said the database is now secured but still advised those affected to check their credit scores with three major credit reporting services and keep close tabs on all their personal and financial information for the foreseeable future.
Florida International University added itself to an inglorious roll call this week when officials at the Miami university’s College of Education was forced to notify more than 19,000 students and 88 faculty members that their most sensitive personal information was exposed by an unsecure database.
FIU officials began sending out letters to affected students last week that a database used with the college’s E-Folio software was not secured, giving unauthorized users an opportunity to access names, Social Security numbers and other information at their will.
Thus far FIU officials say there’s no evidence that any of the unsecured data has been used for identity theft or any other nefarious purpose. The E-Folio software tracked student and faculty performance versus state and national teacher education standards.