Tuesday, August 19, 2008
The confidential information of up to 34,000 students was published online for seven weeks following a mix up at the Princeton Review, it has been revealed.
CNet News has reported that the data security accident took place due to a flaw in the website's configuration which meant any user who logged on to the site was able to access sensitive records.
Information on the site included names, dates of birth, ethnicity, whether the individual had any learning difficulties or disabilities and their level of achievement at the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test which is given to students between grades three and 11.
Following a tip off from the Times newspaper, the institute has now cut off access to this area of its website.
According to the Montreal Gazette, data security should entail more than just passwords advising that websites should now encrypt sensitive information to add a further layer of protection when attempting to maintain computer network security.
Therefore, even if hackers are able to access the data they will not be able to decode and read it.
Related News:
Scammers skulking on social networking sites - 11.11.2008
Criminals are increasingly turning to social networking sites to commit identity theft and fraud, it has been claimed.
Voting 'needs a paper trail' - 11.4.2008
As Americans head to the polls today, one research team has warned that different types of electronic voting machines used throughout the country all have their own vulnerabilities.
Microsoft in legal battle over piracy 'nagware' - 10.30.2008
A Chinese citizen has filed a civil lawsuit against Microsoft after the Windows Genuine Advantage software was installed on his computer as part of an automatic update.
Analyst finds SQL flaw in Google Adwords - 10.30.2008
There could be a resurgence in the number of attacks launched through Google services, one analyst has claimed.
Microsoft patches ahead of Windows 7 pre-beta launch - 10.28.2008
Microsoft yesterday (October 27th) issued a patch for a network security vulnerability identified in the pre-beta version of the Windows 7 operating system.
