The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs has notified 766 students who attended the university between 2003 and 2009 that a faculty member’s stolen laptop may have contained personal information.
UCCS Police and Information Technology staff members are assisting Colorado Springs Police in the investigation of a July 5 residential burglary where two computers were stolen from the home of a university faculty member. A computer is believed to have contained student information, including names and grades, of 766 students enrolled at UCCS between 2003 and 2009. The information was kept as part of class rosters.
Of the 766 students, Social Security numbers for 241 may have been included. Beginning in 2005, UCCS no longer used Social Security numbers to identify students.
There is no indication that the theft has resulted in unauthorized use of personal information. As a precaution, all students whose information is believed to be on the computers are being notified and encouraged to take steps to prevent identity theft. For recommendations, please visit http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/.
UCCS takes seriously its responsibility to secure information with which the university is entrusted and regrets this loss of data. UCCS continues to detect and eliminate unauthorized Social Security numbers on university-owned computers. Also, the university will continue working with departments to encrypt all personally identifiable data on laptop computers and portable devices to help prevent this type of situation from occurring in the future.