A community college in New York mistakenly sent out students’ social security numbers in an email attachment, according to Newsday.

Over 300 students of Suffolk County Community College had their information exposed when an email carrying their social security numbers’ and last names was sent out on the evening of Sept. 17.

The mistake was not noticed until the next morning. Immediate action was taken, according to the Vice President of the school, Mary Lou Araneo, who spoke with Newsday about the error. College officials shut down the server and attempted to retract all unopened emails and attachments.

Araneo was not able to quantify how much of the personal information was retrieved or if anyone was reprimanded for the data breach.
There has been no indication that the information was misused, thus far.

In response, a letter was mailed to students the day that the mistake was noticed. The letter alerted them of the email and gave information on how they could protect themselves.

A second letter was mailed a week later explaining how to get the free credit monitoring service from TransUnion LLC.

The school has agreed to pay this company to monitor the credit of the students that were affected over the next year as an extra precaution, Araneo told NewsDaily.

A second letter was mailed a week later explaining how to get the free credit monitoring service from TransUnion LLC.

The school has agreed to pay this company to monitor the credit of the students that were affected over the next year as an extra precaution, Araneo told Newsday.

Students from all three of the college’s locations were affected by the email error.

This isn’t the first time that a situation like this has occurred. According to Newsday, the social security numbers and birthdates of 3,900 college employees and former workers were made accessible to the public for two days on an internet server in 2006.

Our Take

For the students that were affected by this email, you should accept the free credit monitoring that they are offering. It is a great way to make sure that accounts are not being falsely created under your name. There is something a little fishy for this to happen at the same school just a few years apart. Something should be done to step up the data security. Having all that information online may seem easier but the cyberworld can be harsh and dangerous.