2008 Woodie Awards
Security breach must be addressed
Issue date: 5/1/08 Section: Opinion
The stealing of 40 employees' personal information from the district's computer system allegedly by an employee is a scary crime that has all of us worried.
Shallan Tunupopo, a cashier in the LAC fiscal operations and payroll, and Michelle Hernandez of Long Beach were arrested Thursday, April 17 by the Long Beach Police Department. The police learned that the suspects also had access to information on 794 other employees.
The security lapse can potentially have dire consequences for students and employees.
Teachers and other employees will now have to devote time to wondering whether someone has their confidential information without authorization, depriving employees of valuable time that could be devoted to students.
The ramifications could potentially be a burden to students as well, because a database at LBCC has thousands of Social Security numbers, addresses and other personal information putting them at risk.
Thankfully, the risk was minimized years ago due to many of the campus offices only requiring a student identification number for most services.
We believe that extra measures should be put in place to safeguard against any future breach.
With identity theft rampant, securing information is more important than ever. Thieves can access vital information with the click of a mouse or the push of a button due to information being stored on computers.
To prevent similar problems from happening again, the district must review the current system in place and sure-up its vulnerabilities.
Other preventative steps such as the advent of a multi-layered system where several employees perform checks and balances of each other should be examined.
We recommend a fair and speedy trial for the suspects. If found guilty, they should be sentenced to the fullest extent of the law.
In the meantime, we should all keep a tab on our personal information and bank accounts.
Shallan Tunupopo, a cashier in the LAC fiscal operations and payroll, and Michelle Hernandez of Long Beach were arrested Thursday, April 17 by the Long Beach Police Department. The police learned that the suspects also had access to information on 794 other employees.
The security lapse can potentially have dire consequences for students and employees.
Teachers and other employees will now have to devote time to wondering whether someone has their confidential information without authorization, depriving employees of valuable time that could be devoted to students.
The ramifications could potentially be a burden to students as well, because a database at LBCC has thousands of Social Security numbers, addresses and other personal information putting them at risk.
Thankfully, the risk was minimized years ago due to many of the campus offices only requiring a student identification number for most services.
We believe that extra measures should be put in place to safeguard against any future breach.
With identity theft rampant, securing information is more important than ever. Thieves can access vital information with the click of a mouse or the push of a button due to information being stored on computers.
To prevent similar problems from happening again, the district must review the current system in place and sure-up its vulnerabilities.
Other preventative steps such as the advent of a multi-layered system where several employees perform checks and balances of each other should be examined.
We recommend a fair and speedy trial for the suspects. If found guilty, they should be sentenced to the fullest extent of the law.
In the meantime, we should all keep a tab on our personal information and bank accounts.
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