Information Technology Services - Telephone Billing System

October 17, 2006

Dear Cal Poly Student or Alumnus:

I am writing to inform you of a situation that could affect you. On October 3, we determined that a type of computer virus called a “worm” had infected a computer system used in conjunction with the campus telephone billing system operated by Information Technology Services at Cal Poly. We took immediate steps to remove this worm and secure the information. An investigation showed that your personally identifiable information was present on the computer system. The personally identifiable information included the name and social security number of 6,919 students who lived in the campus residence halls and had a campus telephone account between the years 2001 and 2005.

There is no indication that your personal information was viewed by an unauthorized person. However, we consider any breach of our computer system as a serious matter and are sending you this information consistent with California Civil Code 1798.29. While we cannot advise you on how to proceed, one option you have is to contact one of the credit reporting agencies, each of which has an automated phone-in fraud alert process. To understand the effects of a fraud alert, please visit this Fact Sheet on Credit Freeze and Fraud Alerts.

Contact information for the credit agencies is listed below:

• Equifax 800.525.6285 http://www.equifax.com/
• Experian 888.397.3742 http://www.experian.com/
• Trans Union 800.680.7289 http://www.transunion.com/

Once you receive your credit reports, review them for any suspicious activity. If you see any accounts you did not open or incorrect personal information, call the credit bureau(s) or your local law enforcement agency (e.g., city police department) to file a report of identity theft. The following resources can provide additional information about identity theft:

• California Attorney General's Office – http://oag.ca.gov/idtheft/facts/top-ten​
• The Federal Trade Commission – http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft
• California Office of Privacy Protection
• • http://privacy.ca.gov/cover/identitytheft.htm
  • http://privacy.ca.gov/cover/consumerinfo.htm

Information Technology Services and Cal Poly take the security of personal data seriously. Steps have been taken to strengthen the security of the system and to reduce the personally identifiable information stored on this computer. In addition, the campus is moving away from the use of social security numbers for identifying individuals. We regret any inconvenience this situation may cause you.

Should you have any questions about this event you may contact Tim Kearns, Chief Information Officer, Information Technology Services, at tkearns@calpoly.edu, or Vicki Stover, Campus Information Security Officer at vstover@calpoly.edu.

Sincerely,

Tim Kearns, Chief Information Officer, Information Technology Services