ORONO (AP) — Officials say the University of Maine professor who compromised the personal information of more than 600 current and former students when his laptop was stolen violated a university policy that prohibits employees from having students’ Social Security numbers stored on electronic devices.
John Forker, chief information security officer for the University of Maine System, tells the Portland Press Herald that all system employees receive annual online computer-security training that spells out
the policies.
UMaine spokeswoman Margaret Nagle would not say whether the physics professor would face any repercussions.
Officials say the items were stolen from a checked bag on a Seattle-to-Boston flight this month. Social Security numbers, phone numbers, email addresses, grade data and course information for 604 students was on a removable media card that was not encrypted.
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