Closing In on the Number Involved in McHenry County College Security Security Number Breach

As you might imagine, when I learned that McHenry County College software vendor Ellucian had sent Social Security numbers and other personal information to three junior colleges which MCC refused to identify (but you can discover here), I thought you ought to know how many records were at risk.

The college would not provide the number of students and employees, present and past, that were affected by the security breach.

Here is the reason used by MCC to hide the information:

“The College has redacted certain documents containing information about the number of persons affected by the data release, as that information is prohibited from disclosure by the lllinois Personal information Protection Act, 815 ILCS 530/10(a).”

I have appealed that denial to the Public Access Division of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

Then I got the idea of asking for documents concerning postage used to mail the letters.

That request resulted in what you see below. It shows the letters were sent by bulk mail and cost $4,700.

This July 30th receipt from the Post Office for “Data Breach Notification” gives a clue regarding how many records were compromised by McHenry County College software vender Ellucian’s sending of personal information to three junior colleges. $4,700 was spent for mailings using Bulk Permit 39.

Let’s assume the college would use the cheapest postage rate, which is 13.5 cents apiece for carrier route sorted mail having a required minimum per route (3.5 cents more if the minimum is not met).

Dividing $4,700 by 13.5 cents yields 34,814.8.

So, 34,814 is the maximum number of people affected by the potential identity theft problem.

I informed the college yesterday morning of that figure and invited them to provide the correct number.

So far I have received no reply.

Eventually I will get it and share it with you.

As a post script, remember that Advocate Medical Group released the number of records contained on its four stolen computers.


Comments

Closing In on the Number Involved in McHenry County College Security Security Number Breach — 6 Comments

  1. Be prepared for more exposure of not only your SS number but your medical history.

    As BYOD (bring your own device) expands in the public sector, releases of information that are supposed to be secure will increase.

    There is no way to fully secure anything that can be accessed via the internet.

    Even if the information is stored on ‘stand alone’ computers, it can still be compromised as evidenced recently by the NSA.

  2. FOIA the 3602 form.

    It’s the postal form that will show the exact number mailed.

  3. Cal, I think your headline was ment to say Social Security instead of (Security Security)- I’m sure we all still get it though.

  4. Where are the other johnsburg parade pictures?

    Just wondering.

  5. MCC notified those at risk of the breach by Bulk Mail?

    You’re kidding; right?

    I’ll skip the comics this morning; I’ve had my laugh for the day.

    Thanks!

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