Nickname: Tommy

Review: The comment on FERPA, while insightful, really does not apply here. If you read it, FERPA makes numerous exceptions to the privacy rule, including some that do not even require notification of the affected party. We need something better, and Mr. Olsen is spot on with his comments. As another victim of data theft at the university level, I full-heartedly agree that SSN should never be used in the future as a personal identifier. I recall seeing grades posted outside professors' offices, where they didn't want to use name so SSN was the ID. Should they do this today, surely it would cause a significant uproar.

Date reviewed: Aug 14, 2006 7:32 PM

Nickname: My2Cents

Review: HIPAA does have its educational counterpart, it's called FERPA. Institutions are tasked with the protection of student information. Additionally, most higher ed institutions are moving to the removal of SSN as an identifier due to legislation for some, and public pressure for others. The problem for academia will always be thier highly distributed environments and highly attractive resources, legislation won't change that.

Date reviewed: Jul 12, 2006 5:05 PM

Nickname: cliff

Review: What did these folks expect would happen? We take the brightest 1/5 of the young adult population, sequester it in an environment that encourages learning and experimentation, and provide many of the members with the most recent and advanced personal technology on earth. I find it remarkable that so few leaks of this nature are evident. Should we now make a large number of these, the best and the brightest, into instant felons? Based mainly upon how well they learn to exploit their environment? I think this solution will result in more high-tech criminal activity. Not less.

Date reviewed: Jul 12, 2006 12:44 AM

Nickname: drhynard

Review: If you are considering a law to prevent identity theft, I would argue that the approach needs to be contrary to what you advocate. Trying to hide identity related information is a losing strategy. Instead, establish a national identification registry, similar to the "Do Not Call". Each person would register his personal identity in the form of SSN, birth date, and, most importantly, contact information including an official set of contact information; postal address, e-mail, and phone. The proposed law would simply state that any legal obligation using this data would require the owner of the identify to be notified about the agreement. If someone used my personal information to open a credit card account or buy a house, the lenders would be required to send me official notifications to my registered address for the transaction to be valid and binding, with possible fines and penalities incurred.

Date reviewed: Jul 11, 2006 8:41 PM

Nickname: Kam

Review: Academic data will never be protected. Reason? Simple: it's run by kids/students who don't have the experiences yet to build common sense. And the academics in charge, if they can live in the real world, they wouldn't be academics now would they?

Date reviewed: Jul 11, 2006 5:39 PM

Nickname: dottedline943

Review: Interesting how some businesspeople want fewer or no regulations, but when something unfortunate happens to them they are all too eager to get Uncle Sam involved to protect their own interests.

Date reviewed: Jul 11, 2006 12:20 PM