A laptop computer containing sensitive personal and financial information on more than 84,000 UND alumni, donors and others was stolen last month from a vehicle belonging to a software vendor retained by the UND Alumni Association.
The laptop has not been recovered, but the sensitive information, including individuals' credit card and Social Security numbers, was protected by a data encryption system and other security controls, according to the Alumni Association.
Tim O'Keefe, the association's executive vice president, said Tuesday that there has been no evidence that the information contained in the stolen laptop has been used in any way.
"I feel confident that there is an absolutely minimal chance (the security measures protecting the data) could be breached," O'Keefe said.
He would not identify the vendor, except to say the company is from outside the state and immediate region, or say where the theft occurred. "The vendor has been cooperative with us," he said, and identifying the company could allow whoever has the laptop to "discover they have something more valuable than they thought."
ADVERTISEMENT
The security technology protecting the information "is absolutely the best you can buy," O'Keefe said.
The security technology protecting the information "is absolutely the best you can buy," O'Keefe said.
"Despite following state-of-the-art technology procedures on our end, we deeply regret this issue has occurred with our vendor," he said. "We are holding them accountable and exploring all possible additional measures to ensure this does not happen again."
The vendor will make an online credit monitoring service available at the vendor's cost to affected individuals, O'Keefe said. A personal activation code will be mailed to each affected individual for whom the association has contact information, along with a detailed explanation of what happened.
The association is recommending that anyone who notices suspicious activity on a credit account should report it immediately to the credit provider, the Federal Trade Commission's identity theft division and local police.
The exact number of households whose information was included in the database is 75,719, O'Keefe said, which would include a number of households with two or more alumni or otherwise affected individuals. The total number of people affected is 84,554, he said. Most are UND alumni, but the numbers also include unaffiliated donors and people who have attended some alumni-related event that caused their names to be added to the database.
Ten days passed between the time the theft was reported to the association and the association's announcement Tuesday. That's because the theft was reported to the Alumni Association late on a Friday, O'Keefe said, and officials spent the following week making sure -- with the help of a third-party investigator -- that no breach of the security measures protecting the data had occurred or was likely to occur.
Reach Haga at (701) 780-1102; (800) 477-6572, ext. 102; or send e-mail to chaga@gfherald.com .
