UNF Data Privacy Breach.

[Menzies]

For any of you who ever applied or had kids apply to UNF - even if you/they didn't go there. I am hearing that it may have been a foreign hacker

My daughter applied to UNF as her fall-back school when she was applying to colleges. She went elsewhere. We received this on Saturday.

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Dear XXXXX XXXXXXXX,

We are contacting you about a recent incident at the University of North Florida. We believe that between September 24, 2010, and September 28, 2010, a file containing your confidential information was accessed by unauthorized persons. The file included your name and Social Security number.

While we have no proof that information was actually stolen, because your personal information was involved we are notifying you about this event so that you may take steps to protect your financial information. We suggest that you follow the advice of the Federal Trade Commission located on their website: www.ftc.gov/idtheft/

We also recommend that you place a fraud alert on your credit file. A fraud alert tells creditors to contact you before they open any new accounts or change your existing accounts. The national credit bureaus will not permit UNF to act on your behalf regarding your credit data. Therefore, here is the University of North Florida Police Department General Offense Report number to help you report this event to the credit bureau: 6000616. Call any one of the three national credit bureaus. As soon as one credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the others are notified to place fraud alerts. All three credit reports will be sent to you, free of charge, for your review.

Equifax

Experian

TransUnion

800-525-6285

888-397-3742

800-680-7289

Even if you do not find any suspicious activity on your initial credit reports, the Federal Trade Commission recommends that you check your credit reports periodically. Victim information sometimes is held for use or shared among a group of thieves at different times. Checking your credit reports periodically can help you spot problems and address them quickly. If you discover that your credit information has been misused or that there has been suspicious activity, please notify the credit bureaus at the above telephone numbers and notify your local law enforcement agency. You also could file a complaint with the FTC at www.ftc.gov/idtheft or at 1-877-ID-THEFT (877-438-4338). Your complaint will be added to the FTC's Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse, where it will be accessible to law enforcers for their investigations.

We understand that you may have additional questions about this incident. So, for your convenience, we have established several avenues for you to obtain information. We have added a Frequently Asked Questions page to our website that should answer most of your questions. You can access this FAQ page by going to UNF's homepage (www.unf.edu) and clicking on the Alert button. We will be updating the FAQ page as new information becomes available. So, please, check it regularly.

If you find that you have a concern that is not addressed on the FAQ page, please contact us by calling (904) 620-2114 or sending an e-mail to databreach@unf.edu.

Please be aware that dishonest people falsely identifying themselves as UNF representatives might contact you and offer assistance. We want to assure you that UNF will not contact you by phone, e-mail or any other method to ask you for personal information. We strongly urge you not to release any personal information in response to inquiries of this nature.

Again, we deeply regret this incident and we are working hard to prevent any future events of this kind.

Sincerely,

Shari Shuman

Vice President, Administration and Finance