Harvard Hacked, Student Data Made Public
When applying to a prestigious establishment like Harvard, chances are you worry about a lot of things. You worry whether your essay used enough semicolons, whether that test score was high enough, and whether the recommendation from your favorite teacher didn't get lost in the mail. Chances are, though, you didn't spend much time worrying about someone hacking into Harvard's application database and stealing your private info, but that's exactly what happened to 10,000 of last year's applicants to Harvard's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.All in all, 6,600 records were stolen, including students' full names, mailing addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers -- basically, everything an identity thief would ever need to pretend to be you. Even more frightening is that all that information is currently and freely downloadable via BitTorrent clients, a peer-to-peer distribution system that has no central servers. This means there's no real way to stop the spreading of this information by deleting it in one place, since files are hosted in bits and pieces across a vast network of computers.
The hack was supposedly done to show that the school's server administrator was inexperienced and unable to prevent such an infiltration. Okay, thanks, but since when did victimizing 6,000 innocent people by releasing their Social Security numbers into the wild -- to prove a point on staffing -- become even remotely considerable? Seems like these hackers have watched Live Free or Die Hard a few too many times.
From BetaNews
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Bold1 Beverage said 1:50PM on 3-18-2008
WOW! I'm sorry, but if I pay for HARVARD and I have to complain about the SERVER ADMINISTRATOR long enough to think I've got to commit an act of E-Terrorism....WOW! It sux for the 6,600 people, but it appears that the hackers were right and needed to be taken seriously. I mean, it's not like they were complaining about not enough sugar in the iced tea in the cafeteria.
HARVARD really dropped the ball on this. It's a PAYING CUSTOMER's job to test what they are paying for...especially if they have already complained......HARVARD should be sued!
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Bill (Virginia Beach, VA) said 9:00PM on 3-17-2008
Harvard? The most prestigous school in USA and HACKED computers? Just goes to show you that even the 'upper crust' colleges have no COMMON SENSE when it comes to PROTECTING someone's privacy! That's why the USE of Social Security Numbers should be STRICKEN and outlawed for this very reason! Create a Case Name/File but NEVER use your Credit Card or SSN for ANYTHING. Period!
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Anon said 9:38PM on 3-17-2008
I can't believe a school like Harvard would have such trouble protecting its students' idenities. They're probably the most prestigious school in the country.
I would never apply to any Ivy League school. The Ivy League schools are: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Yale. No way no how.
Why? number one, they're pricier than your average college, number two you'll have to work your butt off to graduate in four years and finally number three, out of state prices are generally higher than in-state prices.
My cousin Branden who lives is VA, is a sophomore in high school wants to go to either MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) or OU (University of Oklahoma). He wants to be a weatherman.
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TRA said 9:58PM on 3-17-2008
That is why everyone should become a member of LifeLock. They are here to protect us against all these people trying to steal our identity.
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boricula said 10:01PM on 3-17-2008
i'm sure it's just a big ho-hum to to ve-ri-tas graduates.THE ONLY THAT MAY SWEAT IS HILLARY,ALUMNUS,YOU KNOW.
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Cheryl said 10:12PM on 3-17-2008
I can't imagine what these young people are going though knowing their personal information is out on the web that also includes their SS# numbers. That has to be very scary. It's bad enough worrying about it each and every time you use a credit card that is taken out of your sight... I would be thinking long and hard at suing someone if my credit is damaged or someone steals my ID to get a job or something else of that nature.... I really feel for them.
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Devynn said 2:06PM on 3-18-2008
even if ppl used random generated numbers to protect their ID on things like college app's, banking, whatever, the hackers would get smarter and find a way. i'm not saying there is NO WAY to protect yourself, but extra levels of security would be nice. :)
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Elizabeth said 11:46PM on 3-17-2008
They should apply to get new SS numbers.
BTW, the most prestigious schools are the fine community colleges across the country with hard-working profs and people from all walks of life.
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Alison said 12:01AM on 3-18-2008
Wow. What happened at Harvard is terrible and certainly frightening, but you guys need to stop knocking the Ivy League schools. Fact of the matter is, they ARE the best schools in the country for a reason. Many law firms, corporations, and other well-paying jobs won't even look at a resume if it doesn't tout an Ivy League name (or a name of equal caliber, such as MIT or Caltech). The students who are accepted into and graduate from these schools are among the hardest working and most intelligent in the country; that is what makes these universities so elite. If you think it's all croquet and polo shirts then you are too ignorant for your own good. So stop bitching about how you "would never apply there" because you know you wouldn't get in anyway.
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DJN said 12:10AM on 3-18-2008
Elizabeth, I'm quite sure many community college profs work very hard. I know many in administration who do also. I'm also sure that, after seeing the curriculum and the student bodies of many CCs, calling them "prestigious" is like calling Hamburger Helper "gourmet."
You'd think with an endowment greater than the federal banking reserves of many countries, the folks in Cambridge could get a more sophisticated computer security system. Heck, import somebody from MIT...or Finland...or India...
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anon said 10:24AM on 3-18-2008
- A hacker is a person who enjoys learning details of a programming language or system
A person who enjoys actually doing the programming rather than just theorizing about it
A person capable of appreciating someone else's hacking
A person who picks up programming quickly
A person who is an expert at a particular programming language or system, as in "Unix hacker"
- A cracker is someone who breaks into someone else's computer system, often on a network; bypasses passwords or licenses in computer programs; or in other ways intentionally breaches computer security. A cracker can be doing this for profit, maliciously, for some altruistic purpose or cause, or because the challenge is there. Some breaking-and-entering has been done ostensibly to point out weaknesses in a site's security system.
The public is always making hackers out to be criminals when in fact its the "crackers".
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william rauh said 1:05AM on 3-18-2008
Well...apparently Computer Science isn't the best major at Harvaaaaaaarddddd.
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Foxy Brown said 10:27PM on 3-18-2008
I think the hacker made a good point, and this is reallly funny!
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Linda said 1:24AM on 3-18-2008
The hardest thing about these "prestigious" schools is getting in. They are so incestuous that the best thing they train students for is teaching in ANOTHER of the schools. Go to a good state school and work your tail off. THAT will help you become successful.
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Gary said 2:48AM on 3-18-2008
This is why in time, you will have a number assigned to you...Wheter in your forehead, or somewhere else. Than your identity cant be stolen, BUT....You will bow to the anti-christ. This and everything else is in the bible. It's coming.
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bill m said 4:04AM on 3-18-2008
So much for the internet. Has anyone ever heard of the US mail. Get real people.
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Fred said 4:16AM on 3-18-2008
I totally agree with those of you who have said social security numbers should be banned from most uses. Thats the main thing they say to protect, in IL they took it off our drivers license. Yet the rest of the goverment plasters it all over the place with you paperwork for whatever. This has allways irritated the hell out of me. As for Harvard folk, serves the leftist sob's right so far as I'm concerned. Its a mediocre college at best anymore anyway.
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TXDoula said 5:44AM on 3-18-2008
Indeed Ivy league universities are good schools, but are they really worth the extra $$$? And for what? Basically, it's the prestige factor of saying you went there. My husband is an extremely successful corporate lawyer (we live in Europe, own several homes) who was offered a spot in an Ivy League Law school, turned it down for a full scholarship at Univ. of GA, walked out owing nothing with a great education. And at this point in his life none of these guys has any earthly idea where each other went to school, not does anyone care...it's all about experience. Ivy League may make it easier to get that first job, but that's about it. We will spend that extra money on our son's medical education rather than an overpriced undergrad degree. One last point, Exxon did a big study of their most successful executives, concensus was they came from public universities and had B averages! They seem to have done ok.
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Devynn said 2:19PM on 3-18-2008
and ALOT, if not ALL ivy league schools these days are using a BIG chunk of their endowments to give FULL RIDE scholarships to need based students. sure, you've got the prep school kids who's parents can afford to pay, but the ivy leagues figured out something a LONG time ago: those kids who CAN'T afford to go to school, but SHOULD are THE BEST students. they work harder for that degree b/c they have their entire futures to lose by NOT doing so. those rich kids tend to have mommy and daddy saving their asses all the damn time, so who cares? not the ivies! lol. they figured out a long time ago that those types are a dime a dozen and they'll get their money from them b/c it makes their families look good. doesn't hurt that it keeps the ivies in business. but by the ivies affording the kids who don't have the money for school, the opportunity to go to school and not pay a dime for it, and get the best education in the world to boot, is a good thing. knock the ivies all you want, but until the state and fed govt start putting their money where their mouth is in education, the ivies will kick butt EVERY time!
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