Investigation Ordered After Computer Glitch at State Agency Exposes Student Records

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAJ5XP9OPC.html

The Associated Press 
Published: Jul 27, 2001

ATLANTA (AP) - A state investigation has been ordered after college
students discovered their Social Security numbers, home addresses and
other personal information on the Internet.

The information was inadvertently leaked from a Georgia Student
Finance Commission database. Student journalists at Southern
Polytechnic University in Marietta found 3,187 pages of personal
information on thousands of students attending Georgia schools.

The information was available on the search engine Google.com from
April until June. The problem has since been fixed.

Gov. Roy Barnes on Thursday called for a state investigation into how
the agency accidentally disabled its "firewalls," barriers that
prevent unauthorized access to a computer network.

A Google Inc. official said Google.com began deleting the information
immediately after being notified by agency officials in April. Because
Google operates hundreds of servers in its network, the process might
have taken anywhere from a few hours to several days, spokeswoman
Cindy McCaffrey said.



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