On April 17, 2008, Buffalo State College (“Buffalo State”) reported that a security breach had occurred, which resulted in the exposure of approximately 16,000 student Social Security numbers and names. Other types of information may have also been exposed. Buffalo State officials said that the personal information was contained in files on a laptop belonging to SunGard, the company that maintains the records system used at the college, which was stolen. It is not clear if identity theft was the motive behind the theft.
An “Identity Data Disclosure” posting on
Buffalo State’s website informs students that it is in the process of determining which students were affected, and what information was included about them. As soon as these determinations are made, Buffalo State will notify affected students by mail. The posting advises students, pending notification that they have been affected by the breach, to consider taking the precaution of placing a free fraud alert on their credit files held by the three national credit reporting agencies. The website contains contact information for each of the credit reporting agencies.
Students who want more information on the breach should visit
SunGard’s website. SunGard has also set up a help desk to respond to questions at 1-866-520-2408. They can also gain information from the CPB on
preventing identity theft and
applying a security freeze.
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