Think your personal information will be secure in a "half baked" private NAIS database, UT has some of the best computer people including computer scientist in the USA.This ain't no redneck database boys: ===================================== Computer records on 197,000 people breached at UTStudents, alumni, faculty with ties to business school at risk of ID theft.
Electronic records of nearly 200,000 people, from students to corporate recruiters, have been accessed illegally at the University of Texas' McCombs School of Business, the university announced Sunday. UT President William Powers Jr., speaking at a hastily called news conference, urged anyone with ties to the business school to take steps to guard against identity theft, the unauthorized use of someone's personal information to obtain goods, services, loans and the like. The university has set up a special Web site, a phone bank and an e-mail address to take questions and provide guidance. "We're very concerned about this breach of security," Powers said, adding that the state attorney general's office has been notified. "We take it extremely seriously, and we take responsibility for it. We're doing everything we can to protect the people whose data may have been exposed." Powers said the compromised records involve 197,000 people, including current and prospective students, alumni, faculty members, corporate recruiters and staff members. The records contain names, biographical information and, in some cases, Social Security numbers and dates of birth. No personal financial information or student grades were accessed, he said. A similar security breach took place in 2003, when Christopher Phillips, then a UT student, downloaded about 40,000 Social Security numbers from the university's computer system. Last year, a federal judge sentenced Phillips to five years on probation and ordered him to pay UT $170,000 in restitution and to perform 500 hours of community service. None of the information the student obtained was used to anyone's detriment, the university said. The latest breach was discovered late Friday, when officials at the McCombs school noticed unusual activity involving databases and concluded that there had been unauthorized access. It appears that the access began as early as April 11, Powers said. University officials did not announce the breach publicly until Sunday afternoon because initial indications were that the number of people whose information was compromised was small enough that it might be possible to contact them directly before disclosing the breach more widely, Powers said. But by late Saturday, before efforts to contact people had begun, it was clear that there were too many for that plan to be feasible, he said. "You can't communicate personally to 197,000 people," Powers said, adding that the affected people are scattered not only around the nation but around the world. Powers said the source of the intrusion was a computer in the Far East. He declined to be more specific. He said officials also think they know how the records were accessed but declined to specify that as well, saying he didn't want to reveal too much about how the university's computer systems are configured. "Whatever link it was, we've shut that door," Powers said. He said it wasn't clear whether the person or persons who accessed the records did so with the intention of malicious use or simply for the challenge of doing so. "My understanding is, it was not just somebody looking around," he said. "It was purposeful." Powers said he was fairly confident that no other colleges at UT have been affected, and he noted that UT is curbing the use of Social Security numbers to enhance security but that they must be used for payroll and financial aid purposes. Powers said the university would try to send e-mails and letters to everyone whose information might have been exposed but said such communications would never ask the recipients to disclose personal data. Any communication asking for personal information, even if it appears to have been sent by the university, should be considered suspect, he said. The breach of computer security at UT comes at a time of growing concern about the vulnerability of computer systems to attack through the Internet. Security and privacy are among the main topics up for discussion at the World Congress on Information Technology, to be held in Austin in early May. Universities pose a special challenge because of two conflicting impulses: the need for security to protect crucial and sensitive data and the desire to be open and collaborative for academic inquiry. "I can make this network a lot more secure just by disconnecting it from the Internet," Dan Updegrove, UT's vice president of information technology, said in an interview last week, before the breach was discovered. "But the more we're an island, the less we can collaborate. So there's a built-in tension." Security specialists say more and more attacks have criminal intent. One reason: There is a thriving black market for personal data and information on the Web. "Personal information has cash value," said Tim Logan, CEO of KnightsBridge Castle Inc., a Silicon Valley startup that monitors customers' Internet-based data for breaches and misuse. Most breached data are used by organized crime groups about 16 to 18 months after the theft, Logan said last week. By then, the victim's vigilance has faded. "We're done with the amateur hacker phase and into the serious electronic crime era," Bob Blakely, chief scientist for security and privacy at IBM Corp.'s Tivoli Systems in Austin, said last week. "The problem really needs to be taken seriously, because the people on the other side are taking it seriously." Are you in danger? University of Texas officials urge anyone with ties to the McCombs School of Business to take steps to guard against identity theft and other misuse of personal information. UT has set up a special phone bank, an e-mail address and a Web site for questions and tips. Call In Austin: 475-9020 Toll-free: (866) 657-9400 E-mail datatheft@mccombs.utexas.edu Online www.mccombs.utexas.edu/datatheft Additional material from staff writer Dan Zehr. =================================================================== About UT Austin Department of Computer Sciences To visit University of Texas Department of Computer Sciences click here The following is from UT Austin, Department of Computer Sciences website: Welcome to the Department of Computer Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin! Our department is recognized as one of the top ten computer science programs in the country, offering the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts, Master of Science, and Ph.D. in Computer Science. Our department is strong in many research areas of Computer Science, including artificial intelligence, computer architecture and systems, formal methods, distributed computing, and theory of computation. We also have vigorous groups in computational biology and bioinformatics, graphics and visualization, networking, and security, among others. The department enjoys close ties with several other groups on the UT Austin campus engaged in computing research, namely the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, and the Texas Advanced Computing Center. We are located in Austin, Texas, which has developed into one of the nation's major centers of technology-based entrepreneurship. Consistently ranked as one of the country's most livable cities, Austin takes pride in its nationally recognized environmental preservation programs. Its citizens enjoy 30 miles of hike-and-bike trails, 172 city parks, 18 golf courses, 9 wilderness areas, 7 area lakes, and more than 11,000 acres of parkland. Whether you are interested in our faculty research, graduate or undergraduate studies, becoming a Friend of Computer Sciences, or just getting an overview of the department, welcome!
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