[BreachExchange] Seattle University laptop containing 2, 000 Social Security numbers lost

[Destry Winant]

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-university-laptop-containing-2000-social-security-numbers-lost/

Seattle University is warning that the names and Social Security
numbers of more than 2,000 people could be exposed after a
university-issued laptop was lost last month.

Files containing information for 2,102 current and former faculty,
staff and their dependents are accessible from the unencrypted laptop,
which a university employee lost on a King County Metro bus on March
26, according to a statement from the university.

A few days later, the employee alerted university officials, who
notified Metro and Seattle police, but they were unable to find the
laptop. The university said that while there’s no indication the
information was accessed, the laptop has access to information about
employees and their dependents enrolled in the university’s benefit
plan.

The information was attached to an offline email cache file on the
laptop, according to the university. The “main file of concern” was
sent in an email to the employee in error by an outside vendor, which
the university said was an isolated incident.

The university sent letters to those who may be affected on April 22,
offering a one-year membership for an identity-theft and
credit-monitoring service.

The university recently hired a director of cybersecurity and risk,
who investigated the incident. University officials promised to
enhance security procedures and said they’re redoubling efforts to
encrypt data on all university laptops.