Pitt responds

‘ ‘ ‘ After declining to comment yesterday regarding the theft of a University-owned laptop… ‘ ‘ ‘ After declining to comment yesterday regarding the theft of a University-owned laptop containing ‘mdash; among other information ‘mdash; the Social Security numbers of graduates from the College of Business Administration, Pitt officials commented on the incident but refused to give specific details about the situation or Pitt’s response. ‘ ‘ ‘ A letter sent from the Joseph M. Katz School of Business to CBA alumni said that while some of the information was necessary for the University’s aggregate knowledge, the Social Security numbers of graduates between 1998-2006 were also maintained in the laptop. ‘ ‘ ‘ Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs Robert Hill would neither confirm nor deny if the unnamed employee who violated University code by maintaining the Social Security numbers had been fired for his or her misconduct. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘The University has addressed the matter appropriately with the employee involved, and because personnel actions and activities are confidential, we will limit our comment to letting you know the matter was addressed appropriately,’ he said. ‘ ‘ ‘ The letter, signed by CBA Dean John T. Delaney, said that the employee’s actions were not in accordance with University procedure. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We regret that an employee violated longstanding University policies on data collection and security by, among other things, maintaining Social Security numbers on the laptop computer. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you,’ said the letter, which was sent to all possibly affected alumni Aug. 27. ‘ ‘ ‘ Hill also would not say whether the database contained all alumni between 1998-2006, saying that giving figures could compromise the investigation being conducted by Pitt police and outside authorities. ‘ ‘ ‘ In response to CBA alumna Tania Kempf telling The Pitt News that she thinks Pitt should pay for a fraud protection service for affected alumni, Hill said that Pitt’s actions were sufficient. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘The University has informed the affected alumni about the credit bureaus that they can work with to protect themselves against identity theft, and we did so in the letter that we sent to all the potentially affected alumni,’ said Hill, adding that the action the University recommended was free of charge. ‘ ‘ ‘ The unnamed employee first reported the theft of the laptop on Aug. 11. The laptop was stolen from the employee’s office in Mervis Hall, which houses the School of Business. ‘ ‘ ‘ In the meantime, Hill said, ‘the search continues for the culprit.’