Dumb. Just dumb. Why a school (outside of the financial aid dept) uses a SSN for anything these days is beyond me. Of course, there’s not encryption/extra security on the stolen drive, so those 38,000 kids’ identities are free to be sold to the highest bidder. Way to go, Georgetown.
Not that Georgetown is the first school to have data stolen. Oh yeah, my SSN was stolen right under Tulane’s nose a few months ago.
And what happened when I went to try and get the school to use a different number? Yeah, our computer system doesn’t allow for that yet. Jeez this burns me up!
[begin rant] Look, Tulane - get it together before you lose my data, AGAIN! Either upgrade your system, or allow me to change my SSN to my phone number or some other uniquely identifiable number. You don’t need my SSN anymore! I’m not applying for any more student loans. You have absolutely _no_ reason to hang on to it. Let this post serve as legal notice that I’ll see you and your Green Wave in court the next time you lose my data.[/end rant]”
-Joel Yarmon
joel@tulanemba.org
1 response so far ↓
JulyDream // Jan 30, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Amen! I saw Frank Abignale speak a few months back . His life is the one about which the movie Catch Me If You Can describes. He now works for the FBI, and in his speech he stated, unless you are being extended credit (or some other financial obligation), there is no reason an organization needs your SSN…
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