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Fairfax Students data exposed on test-prep site
Posted by: lurker.. ()
Date: August 19, 2008 06:21PM

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/news-by-subject/safety-security/?i=54928;_hbguid=88e82780-f784-4d68-b5fb-474e14ec4c9c&d=top-news

74,000 students from the Fairfax County school district in Virginia,

Test scores, birth dates, and other personal information for more than 100,000 students were published accidentally on The Princeton Review's web site this summer, according to the New York Times.


The information was available on the test preparation company's web site for nearly two months, and the information should have been available only through passwords, the company told the Times for an Aug. 19 story. A Princeton Review official told the newspaper that the site's protection probably was lost when the company switched internet providers in June.

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Re: Fairfax Students data exposed on test-prep site
Posted by: NY article ()
Date: August 19, 2008 08:19PM


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Re: Fairfax Students data exposed on test-prep site
Posted by: this makes me mad ()
Date: August 20, 2008 12:15PM

I am not a computer expert, but 2 months went by before Princeton Review knew about the security breach???

And that was after the NY Times reporter called them to tell them. Don't companies hire security experts from preventing a disaster like this.

Fairfax County Schools is going to notify the parents of 74,000 students? That should be interesting. Yet another FERPA vilation by this school district.

I want to know who had access to this information? They claimed that users were supposed to enter a password. This data should be highle secureand available only to a select few on a need to know basis only!!

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Re: Fairfax Students data exposed on test-prep site
Posted by: u r n idiot ()
Date: August 20, 2008 10:52PM

this makes me mad Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am not a computer expert, but 2 months went by
> before Princeton Review knew about the security
> breach???
>
> And that was after the NY Times reporter called
> them to tell them. Don't companies hire security
> experts from preventing a disaster like this.
>
> Fairfax County Schools is going to notify the
> parents of 74,000 students? That should be
> interesting. Yet another FERPA vilation by this
> school district.
>
> I want to know who had access to this information?
> They claimed that users were supposed to enter a
> password. This data should be highle secureand
> available only to a select few on a need to know
> basis only!!

"This school district" did not expose the information, the test collection company did.

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Re: Fairfax Students data exposed on test-prep site
Posted by: Gravis ()
Date: August 21, 2008 01:18AM

this makes me mad Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am not a computer expert, but 2 months went by
> before Princeton Review knew about the security
> breach???


are you kidding me? GMU was hacked after a 6+ month brute force hammering attack and nobody noticed until it was too late. basically, they tried every password combination for an account until they got in. any normal security setup would have locked them out for a 10 mins after getting the password incorrect on three consecutive attempts. security breaches of this kind are nothing new, when you hire idiots, stupid things happen.


"the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."095042938540

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Re: Fairfax Students data exposed on test-prep site
Posted by: huh? ()
Date: August 22, 2008 10:00AM

Someone please explain to me why the company who actually had the data stated it was 74,000 students, yet Fairfax County claims it is only 300.

Big difference. I trust the testing agency before FCPS in the accuracy of the actual number.

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Re: Fairfax Students data exposed on test-prep site
Posted by: Coles ()
Date: September 11, 2008 09:51PM

My little sister was one of those students who had their scores put up.

One day we came home to find a message on our machine apologizing for putting her SOL information on the Princeton Review website.

None of us really cared.
Probably because all we heard was that her test scores were on there. nothing about her name and birthdate.

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