THE UNIVERSITY DARY KANSAN
THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2006
NEWS
NATIONAL
5A
Security breach causes students' data to appear on Education Department site
BY HOPE YEN ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON The Education Department said Wednesday it would arrange for free credit monitoring for as many as 21,000 student loan borrowers after their personal data appeared on its Web site.
Terri Shaw, the department's chief operating officer for federal student aid, said the people involved are holders of federal direct student loans who used the department's loan Web site — http://www.dlssonline.com — between Sunday and Tuesday.
It is the latest in a string of data thefts and security breaches affecting more than a half-dozen federal agencies in recent months.
Education Department officials blamed the breach on a routine
software upgrade, conducted by Dallas-based contractor Affiliated Computers Services Inc., that mixed up data for different borrowers when users accessed the Web site. Since Sunday, 26 borrowers have complained.
"We're not pleased and we take this incident very seriously," Shaw said. "We've asked ACS to determine how this glitch was missed in the testing process so we can make sure we fill that gap."
She said the people affected will be contacted by the department by letter and offered free credit monitoring by ACS.
A message left with the company was not immediately returned Wednesday.
The Web site program includes names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers and in some cases
account information for holders of federal direct student loans. It does not involve those who have loans managed through private companies.
Shaw said personal data may have been inadvertently mixed up if different users logged on at roughly the same time and performed the same Web site function, such as updating a home address. The department determined that less than one-half of 1 percent of the 6.4 million total borrowers — or roughly 21,000 — had logged on to the Web site between Sunday and Tuesday.
The department has disabled the malfunctioning parts of the Web program and will not turn them back on until the problem is fixed. During that time, certain portions of the student loan Web site may not be accessed.
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beginning to brew.
begining to attend According to NCAA's bylaw 13 on recruiting, it's illegal for "athetic representatives" to try to persuade a recruit to attend their school. An "athetic representative" includes almost all fans.
If a fan is a booster, season-ticket holder or has contributed to the athletics department at any time, that person is considered an "athletic representative." Becker said even students are technically considered "athletic representatives."
Since athletics director Lew Perkins arrived in June 2003, Kansas has revamped its compliance staff to avoid future infractions like Davis' improper benefits to Jackson. Now the Internet makes it more difficult for the department to monitor such activity in the virtual world.
"It's just impossible," said associate athletics director for compliance Theresa Becker. "It's a tough challenge. You rely on a strong educational effort to inform people what they can and cannot do and
When fans take recruiting into their own hands by trying to convince a player to attend their university, it's the institution's responsibility to investigate and report the infraction to the NCAA. Whether it's a booster giving a recruit a ride to a game — which Davis did for Jackson — or even students bumping into a recruit on the street and giving their recruiting pitch, it's against NCAA regulations.
But how is the NCAA or the University supposed to monitor fans' activity?
"The NCAA doesn't tell us what to monitor or how to monitor," Becker said. "We create our own forms. We create our own policies. We create our own systems. The NCAA doesn't come in and tell us how to run our shop."
job of monitoring its fans, as was the case with Davis, which helped lead to the alleged lack of institutional control of the KU Athletics Department. The University is taking steps to make sure Kansas boosters and fans know the rules.
The Athletics Department sends an annual brochure to boosters outlining rules that boosters should be aware of. Becker was hired last November, and in June, the Athletics Department hired Kristine Fowler to be the education coordinator for the compliance department. Fowler, who came from the University of Miami, is in charge of educating coaches and fans. She is trying to get the message out by other means like television and radio spots and public service announcements during games.
Vertical stripes are slimming
Kansan staff writer C.J. Moore can be contacted at cjmoore@kansan.com.
Jaime Oppenheimer/THE WICHITA EAGLE
The Sedgwick County Zoo's baby zebra muzzles its mother Wednesday in Wichita. The zebra, born on Aug. 18, will be on display in a few weeks.
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"It's all about staff," Gaudreau said, adding that it could make or break a bar.
"If employees have fun, patrons have fun," he said.
Woodring also said that his employees were the key to operating a successful bar and that their attitudes played a large role.
Tanner's Bar and Grill, 1540 Wakarusa Dr., closed during the summer. Zig and Mac's, a sports bar and grill, is tentatively scheduled to open in that location during the second week in September, Brad Ziegler, the bar's owner, said.
Quinton's Bar and Deli owner Steve Gaudreau will open The Bar tonight at 8 in the space where The Mad Hatter used to be. Gaudreau said The Bar would be slightly different from Quinton's and would compliment it nicely.
Kansan staff writer Jack Weinstein can be contacted at jweinstein@kansan.com.
"The closer you are to your competition, it helps." Woodring said referring to the proximity of The Hawk and The Wheel. "We feed off each other. Chances are if you go to one, you'll go to the others in the neighborhood."
Hatter's closing to a poor location and competition, but competition helped Michael "Woody" Woodring's business. Woodring, a December 2005 graduate, assumed control of The Bull in mid-January and opened it in mid-February.