Technician
tuesday august
23 2011
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
Private data release exposes security gaps OIT vows to increase efforts to fight cyber crime in light of recent privacy breach. Justin Rose Deputy News Editor
A recent private data disclosure, which occurred when a researcher at N.C. State failed to remove personal identifying information (PII) from data after it was summarized, has forced the Office of Information Technology (OIT) to go to greater lengths to enforce cyber security, according
to OIT officials. Tim Gurganus, OIT Security Officer, said the researcher had been told by the Institutional Research Board (IRB)he could use the PII in his analysis, but was to remove it after it had been summarized. The researcher failed to follow procedure and the PII was disclosed when the files were made into a website and was faulted by the IRB, Gurganus said. The data comprised names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers of around 1,800 elementary school students from a research project conducted from 2003 to 2006 that examined the effect of technology on academic
performance, according to Marc Hoit, OIT vice chancellor. Annie Anton, professor of computer science, says the incident underscores the importance of being careful with PII, which she says should have been encrypted immediately, as well as the prevalence of child identity theft. “This is a very unfortunate situation,” Anton said. She has testified before Congress and worked with the FCC concerning information privacy and security. Anton said what’s particularly concerning is that children’s Social Security numbers can be used by thieves, and when the kids go to college, they
are denied student loans because of identity theft. Hoit said there isn’t a clear answer to how and when the PII — which is required to be protected by FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act — was disclosed, mainly because the study was completed years ago. “We don’t really know how it happened,” Hoit said. The three schools whose data was compromised, Ashley Chapel in Richmond County, and Gardners and Wells in Wilson County, used their students’ Social Security numbers as identification numbers at the time,
an old practice that almost all public institutions in the U.S. have since changed, Hoit said. While N.C. State made the change to randomly generated personal identification numbers in 2004, according to Hoit, that doesn’t guarantee any of the information it hosts online is up to date. The web page with the PII wasn’t put on N.C. State’s homepage, Hoit said. It just became searchable on Google, or any other search engine. One would need to stumble upon it by chance or be looking for it especially, which is
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Design school info session ends by surprise Architecture students find a home on campus John Wall
us,” Hammon said. AIAS will look to alumni to fund the trip. It will cost about $550 to On Monday af ternoon, the send one student, according to American Institute of Architec- Hammon. Since it is a startup orture Students held an information ganization — due to its recent insession, hoping to gain interest for activity — student appropriations also factor into the budget. Hamthe group. In the heart of the College of mon said she could not comment on Design, students gathered around the amount of money the College of “The Egg” to hear organization Design allocates. The organization does not get leaders speak on what they can expect if they join. About 40 students as much as the Design Council, showed up to hear Co-Presidents though, according to Hammon. Students who join AIAS will get Nicole Hatjioannou and Shawna Hammon discuss available oppor- a free 18-month associate membership to the American Institute tunities. The AIAS, although inactive for of Architecture upon graduation. AIA is in collaboration with the past several years, is now up and running at full speed. With funding AIAS, and students involved are from the College of Design, student invited to AIA conventions. Hatjioannou, a junior in archiappropriations and alumni, interested students can look forward tecture, listed several reasons for students to join. to traveling and “We are trying gaining gento get students eral architecture prepared for joinknowledge. ing the AIA, just “Our purpose in the U.S., and is to help us we are having firm become better calls, construction architects, and visits and advisto give us the ing students on knowledge to behow to get their come architects,” work published,” Hammon, a Hatjioannou said. graduate student Shawna Hammon, co-president The club has not in architecture, visited any onsaid. The program used to be extremely campus construction sites, such as popular on campus, Hammon said. the Talley Student Center, because Leaders attended a leadership semi- they are very near the beginning. nar this summer to prepare them However, they plan to have a “firm call” with Talley architect Turan for the upcoming year. An international organization, Duda, according to Hatjioannou. According to its website, AIAS has AIAS’s biggest event is called “forum.” It will be held in Phoenix, a four-part mission statement: to promote excellence in architecture Ariz. this year. “Our goal is to take five or six education, training and practice; students. It would be great if we to foster an appreciation of archicould take more, like 15 students, tecture and related disciplines; to because that’s the typical number enrich communities in a spirit of that AIAS organizations would collaboration and to organize stubring. Since we have been inactive dents and combine their efforts to in recent years, even attending the advance the art and science of arconference would be a huge step for chitecture. News Editor
“Our purpose is to help us become better architects, and to give us the knowledge to become architects.”
John Joyner/Technician
Bryan Seef, a freshman in environmental design in architecture, is tended to after collapsing during an interest meeting for the American Institute of Architecture Students held between Brooks and Kamphoefner Halls on Monday. Seef said he thinks he passed out from heat exhaustion.
Student faints at meeting, needs stitches John Wall News Editor
During an outdoor information meeting Monday, a freshman passed out on the brick sidewalk, injuring his face. Ten minutes into a meeting for the American Institute of Architecture Students, freshman in environmental design in architecture Bryan Seef sustained a laceration near his eyebrow as he fell face-first onto the sidewalk. EMS transported Seef to the hospital where he received 14 stitches. Architecture graduate students responded to the fallen student first, according to architecture graduate student Michael Southard. He was on the scene when Seef began to show signs of fatigue.
Book discussion to focus on nutrition Event will highlight chef ’s memoir and emphasize food science studies. Jatin Bhatia Correspondent
In collaboration with N.C. State, Wake County Public Libraries is hosting a “Read Smart” book discussion, led by University professors, at Cameron Village Library on Thursday at 7 p.m. The discussion is part of a series and will be free and open to the
4th annualirt sh Student t- test design con tries n Call for E
general public. The event will highlight “Blood, Bones & Butter,” a memoir by Gabrielle Hamilton, in which she talks about her journey from her mother’s kitchen to her own at her acclaimed restaurant, Prune, in New York. On the way, she passed through kitchens in France, Greece and Turkey, all of which offered their own unique lessons, from hospitality tactics to facing challenges with grit. Marian Fragola, the NCSU Libraries director of program planning and outreach, helped to organize the event.
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go.ncsu.edu/contest
“He started tipping down and then completely fainted,” Southard said. “He hit his head on the ground, and it made a soft thud. He has a gash above his right eye.” The students applied pressure to the affected area to slow bleeding. He remained on the ground until EMS arrived and took him away on a stretcher. After about four hours in the hospital, Seef said doctors at Rex Hospital could not figure out exactly why he had passed out. As of 7:00 p.m., he still had a headache. “[Doctors] never really told me exactly why I passed out. I’m pretty sure that it was a result of dehydration,”Seef said. He left with a bit of advice from healthcare providers. “[The doctors] told me to take it
easy,” Seef said. “They don’t want me to do much for the first 24 hours.” Design school faculty rallied behind the victim. Dean Marvin Malecha and Assistant Dean for Budget and Administration Dottie Haynes met Seef at Rex. He then got a ride home from another member of the college. When he first started feeling lightheaded, Seef said he thought it was the weight of his book bag that was making him feel bad. He set it down, which was when he began to lose consciousness. “I put down my backpack and I was waiting for somebody. All of a sudden, next thing I know I’m on the ground with people over me,” Seef said.
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She said her goal was to join University scholars with other scholars who do not necessarily have access to school resources. “The event is cool because the N.C. State community and the general public can come together to discuss the book,” Fragola said. The “Read Smart” book discussions consist of a presentation and discussion, according to Fragola. “The professor usually begins with a short presentation that in-
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Google+ provides alternative to Facebook Google hopes that its latest offering will find an audience in the social networking universe. See page 6.
At the corner of Trinity and Chaos N.C. State tailgating: barbeque, Bojangles and a sea of red. See page 8.
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