Fredonia data involved in laptop security breach

Officials at SUNY Fredonia are examining data from the backup files of a stolen laptop computer that indicates some of its current or former students may have been affected by a security breach at a company that provides its computerized student records system.

The breach occurred when a laptop computer belonging to a consultant of SunGard Higher Education was stolen March 13. After analyzing a backup of the laptop’s contents, SunGard found that it contained data from projects with a number of higher education customers, including campuses in the State University of New York system.

President Dennis L. Hefner at SUNY Fredonia issued this letter to the campus community this afternoon:

I am writing to inform you that the social security numbers of 77 currently enrolled students, plus up to 881 previous year applicants and alumni, may have been exposed in a security breach at SunGard Higher Education Systems, the company that administers our Banner records system.

The breach occurred when a laptop computer belonging to a consultant of SunGard Higher Education was stolen March 13. In the computer were files relating to a number of SunGard’s higher education customers, including the State University of New York. SUNY Fredonia was one of 12 campuses in SUNY that were affected by the incident.

We initially learned of SUNY Fredonia’s possible involvement on Monday, April 14. On Wednesday, April 16, we received a data file, and yesterday we received the tools necessary to analyze the data. Today we identified 958 total matches to people in our data base. We will be issuing an e-mail to our 77 currently enrolled students within the next 24 hours, and by no later than Monday will have mailed letters to all 958 individuals.

Any student not receiving an email at their fredonia.edu address by Sunday, April 20, should not be at risk. However, we understand the anxiety and frustration that this event means for our campus community, and some of you may want confirmation of your status. If so, you are invited to bring a photo I.D. to the Registrar’s Office, located in Reed Library, and a member of the staff will let you know whether or not your name is listed.

SunGard has announced it is offering affected students one full year of free credit monitoring service. I encourage you to learn more about this incident and the ways you can protect yourself by visiting the SunGard website. Individuals who would like to know more about identity protection are encouraged to visit The Identity Theft Resource Center. 

The potential for identity theft is of deep concern to all of us. SunGard believes that the computer was stolen for the hardware rather than the data. We know that the laptop’s operating system was protected with a strong password.

The safety of student information is paramount to SUNY Fredonia, and as one of SunGard’s largest clients, the State University of New York has assured us that it is committed to negotiating appropriate action and resolution on behalf of any students affected by this incident.