Cornell Security Breach!

Earlier today as many as 45,000 current and former Cornellians got emails from the Cornell IT department notifying them that their Social Security Numbers had been stolen during a computer theft earlier in June. The Review is currently doing its own investigation into the matter, but in the meantime check out both the Sun article as well as the university-provided link about the incident. According to the link provided by Cornell, the University does admit that the storage of this personal information on an insecure laptop was in violation of University policy. Check back tomorrow for more updates on this developing story.

[UPDATE]

The most important elements of the widespread email alert to students are below:

Last week, we learned that a Cornell-owned computer that was stolen earlier this month contained your name and Social Security Number. Please accept our most sincere apologies for this unfortunate event.

…

This incident underscores the need for ever more vigilant security processes.  Cornell University is committed to maintaining the privacy of individuals’ personal information and takes many precautions to ensure its security.  In response to incidents of theft like this one, and the increasing number of Internet-enabled computer attacks, the University is continually improving its systems and practices.