What can you do to better protect private information?
1.- Keep your office door closed while you are away.
It only takes a few seconds for someone to steal an electronic device yet it is surprisingly common to see an unattended office open around the Law Center. Please lock your office as you walk away from it, even if it's just to consult with a colleague across the hall.
2.- Scan your computer(s) for private information.
In order to better protect your privacy we encourage you to scan your home, personal and work laptop or desktops for confidential information. We recommend the following scanning tool:
http://www.cit.cornell.edu/security/tools/
Be aware that there are False Negative and False Positive findings, but this systems makes it easier to identify possible private information stored on your PC.
Make sure you remove the log file after you scan, otherwise this log file could be a blue print for private information on your computers.
3.- Store private information securely.
Remember to store confidential information only on network drives or secure, encrypted USB flash drives like the Lexar JumpDrive Secure II Plus available from the office supplies vendor of the university in different sizes, from 512 MB up to 8 GB.
What to do if your Personally Identifiable Information was compromised?
1.- Contact IST's helpdesk.
2.- Set up Fraud Alert on your credit report. Fraud alerts stay on your report for 90 days yet it could be extended up to 7 years. Get one free report from each of the following reporting agencies:
- Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
- Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013
- TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790
You may not want to your credit report right away since suspicious activity may not show up until a month after your information was compromised. Once you get them, make sure to review your reports thoroughly, particularly observing address, SSN, Name and Last name to make sure no body has altered your personal information.
3.- Set up a Credit Freeze. A credit freeze is a temporary restriction on your credit report which would prevent any identity thief from opening a new account in your name. The laws and fees about credit freezes vary by state, but keep in mind that a credit freeze must be placed with each reporting agency resulting in three credit freezes. Credit Freeze’s don’t alter your credit score, but in order to request a loan or a credit card you must lift your credit freeze. At last, credit a credit freeze only prevents and identity thief from opening a new account that requires a credit check but will not limit existing malicious access to a particular account nor will it limit opening an account where credit check is not a prerequisite.
4.- Monitor your Credit: You are entitled to a free annual credit report from each credit reporting agency by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. To do so you may solicit them through www.annualcreditreport.com, The law also allows you a free credit report if a company denies your application for credit, insurance or employment; this request must be done within 60 of the notification of the company’s action against you. Otherwise you may solicit new copies of your credit report from either of the companies above at a maximum charge of $9.50.
There are multiple Credit Monitoring Services that notify you of any changes on your credit report, we encourage you to make sure there are no consumer complaints against that company before enrolling for their services.
5.- The FTC is the federal clearinghouse of Identity Theft Complains. Complaint with the FTC if someone makes improper use of your information. This complaint will be used in conjunction with a police report to block further exploit of your identity.
6.- If you detect someone has used your Identity Information, file a police report about your Identity Theft. This report should contain enough information for businesses and credit report companies to declare you a victim. And should ensure that the debts attributed to you do not appear on your credit report, and fraudulent information will be blocked permanently.
7.- If your driver’s license or other government agency identifications were stolen from you, renew them asking the agency to place a flag on your file. This flag will prevent anybody from requesting another form of identification in your name.
8.- Review further information at:
Recent privacy efforts at the Law Center:
To ensure that the Law Center continues its clean record of protecting community information, the Information Systems and Technology team in partnership with other academic and administrative departments successfully carried out the following initiatives:
1.- Self-assessment of more than 65 information systems in use at the Law Center, plus some of the larger University
2.- Scan of the computers of key administrative personnel to detect unnecessary electronic private information
3.- Reengineering of administrative processes to eliminate social security numbers from paper and electronic forms and documents.
4.- Training and awareness for senior faculty members, students, administrators, librarians, and staff members.
5.- Upgrade of the security certificates, firewalls, virtual private networks, and other protective components of the campus information systems and communications infrastructure.
