Identity Theft
In the 2004-2005 school year, two students broke into the school's server and obtained the Social Security numbers of the student body and faculty. The incident was reported to authorities on May 12, 2005. The school's administration was not aware of this network security breach for several months, but upon finding out the principal sent a letter home, stating "Our investigation is on-going, but the students seemed to be more focused on entering files to demonstrate that they could gather the data than on actually using the Social Security numbers." Hinsdale Central High School administrators gave the Social Security numbers to the Social Security Administration and the Federal Trade Commission as a precaution. There was no indication that the students used the Social Security numbers they obtained, and both students later claimed to have destroyed the information obtained. However, some incident reports indicate that the information was retained by the students. There is no way to verify if the Social Security numbers were actually destroyed. As a result of this incident, Hinsdale Central no longer keeps electronic records of Social Security numbers of its students and faculty. The IT department restructured the system to prevent future security breaches, but it is unclear if the changes have helped. The two students were indefinitely suspended from the school network.
Read more about this topic: Hinsdale Central High School
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