ATL Public Service Announcement: Attention Georgetown Grads - Are You the Victim of Identity Theft?
Georgetown is an excellent law school -- "T14" (top 14), as some like to say -- with many things going for it. Supreme Court justices love to visit. Students get to take classes like The Law of 24. The diva-licious Nina Totenberg speaks at commencement.
Perhaps most importantly, at least to readers of ATL, Georgetown grads land excellent jobs. Not surprisingly, in a recent poll, a majority of respondents said they'd need $100,000 to turn down 14th-ranked Georgetown in favor of, say, 51st-ranked Arizona State (maybe 'cause they'd like to be separated from Kumari Fulbright by multiple states).
But GULC isn't perfect. Mistakes get made -- mistakes that could, say, compromise your personally identifiable information (and mess with your credit score). From several tipsters:
"You might want to post this so anyone who graduated during this time but didn't get the e-mail knows about the stolen identities.""I got this warning this morning. Evidently, not everyone is affected, as students next to me in class have not received the email. Just thought I'd forward this along to show the problems at American could be worse - at least their identities aren't at risk."
View the email, after the jump.
Update: We have also posted a follow-up to the original message.
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW CENTER -- MEMORANDUM -- EXPOSURE OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION
From: University Information Security Office
Date: Jan 29, 2008 8:27 AM
Subject: Message from Georgetown Information Security Office
To: [xxxx]
January 28, 2008
Dear Current or Former Students, Faculty and Staff:
We are writing to inform you that you are among a group of individuals
whose personally identifiable information such as name and social
security number may have been exposed due to a recent computer theft
on campus. We regret this incident and wanted to alert you via email
as soon as possible after completing our investigation of the nature
and scope of the data at issue. Recognizing the seriousness of this
incident and the concern we share for the personal security of those
within our community, we are making arrangements to provide free
credit monitoring services for you. In the coming days you can expect
to receive a hard copy mailing with instructions on how to take
advantage of this service.
On January 3, 2008 an external computer hard drive was reported stolen
from a locked office within the Office of Student Affairs in the
Leavey Center on the Main Campus. Georgetown's Department of Public
Safety responded to scene and continues to cooperate with an ongoing
investigation by the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police
Department. In addition, we have informed the U.S. Secret Service
about this incident so that they may follow up as they determine
appropriate.
A thorough internal investigation of the data that was contained on
the hard drive has now determined that the hard drive included
personally identifiable information for students enrolled and some
faculty and staff from 1998 through 2006. Since the files related to
a range of cross-campus student financial transactions processed
through the Office of Student Affairs, it pertained to students
enrolled at the Main, Medical and Law Center campuses. No financial
information, such as bank account or credit card numbers, was
contained in the hard drive. This incident is limited to this one
hard drive and does not extend to other University systems and
services where personal data may be stored or updated.
At this time Georgetown has no evidence that your personal data have
been misused. However, as a precaution, we are notifying you of this
situation and encouraging you to place a fraud alert on your credit
reporting accounts. You can find instructions for notifying credit
bureaus, utilizing the free credit monitoring service (as soon as it's
available) and other information online at identity.georgetown.edu.
We have also established a toll free hotline (1-866-740-2458) which
will be operational as of 9:00am EST tomorrow morning. In addition,
if you are on or near the Main Campus, you may attend an information
session on Wednesday, January 30 at 2:00pm in the ICC Auditorium where
we will be able to respond to any questions in person. A separate
information session will also be held on the Law Center campus on
Thursday, January 31 at 4:00pm in McDonough Hall Room 203.
Although in this particular instance the data breach was the result of
a computer theft and not any kind of system intrusion, it is an
unfortunate example of the increasing importance of data security to
all of us. We deeply regret any incident that potentially exposes the
sensitive data of members of our community.
Georgetown recognizes the potential vulnerability of this kind of
information and consistently has taken steps to protect data across
University systems. For example, Georgetown has been actively
reducing the use of social security numbers in its data storage.
Individuals are now assigned a GoCard numbers and NetIDs to be used as
unique identifiers instead of social security numbers. We are also
taking other steps to implement enhanced security procedures across
campuses and continue to identify and incorporate emerging best
practices in data protection and security.
You may also take steps individually to protect sensitive data. Some
suggestions for doing so can be found at our Office of Information
Security website at security.georgetown.edu as well as online
resources from the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse at http://www.privacyrights.org/identity.htm
and the federal government's identity theft website at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/.
Please accept our sincere apologies for this incident. Thank you for
your cooperation and understanding.
Sincerely,
H. David Lambert Todd Olson
Vice President and Chief Vice President for Student Affairs
Information Officer
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW CENTER -- FOLLOW-UP MEMORANDUM -- EXPOSURE OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION
From: Information Systems Broadcast
Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2008 1:46 PM
To: Information Systems Broadcast
Cc: All Faculty and Staff; All Students
Subject: Message from Law Center Dean T. Alexander Aleinikoff
I am writing to let you know that the University sent an e-mail this morning informing some members of our community that an external hard drive containing personal information, including social security numbers and dates of birth, was stolen from a locked office on the main campus earlier this month. Of the more than 38,000 persons who received the e-mail, about 8,300 were former and current Law Center students and staff.
The information that was contained on the hard drive pertained to fees associated with the student health insurance program in which Law Center students and some staff participate. This program is administered through the main campus Office of Student Affairs.
The notification from main campus informs those affected about steps they can take to protect against misuse of the disclosed information, including fraud and identity theft. The University has established a website (identity.georgetown.edu) and a toll-free hotline (866-704-2458) that includes additional information.
University representatives will come to the Law Center to conduct an information session on Thursday, January 31, at 4:00 p.m. in McDonough 203.
This incident has prompted us to review our security measures at the Law Center. I have initiated a Law Center-wide examination of practices and policies that pertain to the collection and storage of, and access to, sensitive information kept in both electronic and paper form.
I am deeply concerned about this breach of data security. The Law Center will do everything we can to support and assist those affected.
T. Alexander Aleinikoff
Dean
What Would It Take For You To Go To Arizona State (#51) Rather Than Georgetown (#14)? 57% Say $100,000 [TaxProf Blog]
(71) Comments
GTOWN = TTT
"Not surprisingly, in a recent poll, a majority of respondents said they'd need $100,000 to get them to attend 14th-ranked Georgetown over, say, 51st-ranked Arizona State (maybe 'cause they'd like to be separated from Kumari Fulbright by multiple states)."
This makes no sense. I think it should be the other way around.
It was a computer over on main campus... I think they've been having trouble over there, I've heard (from a very reliable source) that other offices have had computers stolen recently.
And yeah, it didn't affect everybody, I (thankfully) did not get one of those e-mails, but they did send an e-mail later in the day from Law Dean Aleinikoff about what to do if your stuff was jacked.
Yeah it is the other way around... check the link
"What Would It Take For You To Go To Arizona State (#51) Rather Than Georgetown (#14)? 57% Say $100,000"
Phase 1: Put personal data on external hard drive without bothering to encrypt it from an eight year span.
Phase 2: ???
Phase 3: Advise students on how to deal with identity theft, and have the balls to offer "suggestions for protecting sensitive data"?
If I was one of the GULC students or alumni in question, I'd have a few questions for these asshats.
Just got the email. Boo.
I took a $75,000 scholarship to attend a second-tier law school over GULC. No regrets here. Less debt and still ended up with a COA clerkship and V20 firm.
I took a $75,000 scholarship to attend a second-tier law school over GULC. No regrets here. Less debt and still ended up with a COA clerkship and V20 firm.
People make fun of the evening program, but I don't have to use school insurance.
I have a job.
The $100k part does not make any sense. Please re-write?
I got one of those email and have the same questions as 2:59
Kumari went to University of Arizona, not ASU.
I already had 150,000 reasons not to give GULC a dime of my money, and now I've got one more.
I just received the email in question, good to know that GULC is following in the footsteps of other prestigious DC institutions...
http://www.usa.gov/veteransinfo.shtml#happened-Aug06
F-you Georgetown.
3:14, what are your top few of the 150,000? I quite liked the place.
I got one of the emails and I went there for undergrad, not law school - it seems to be cutting across campuses and class years (I was class of 98).
Sucks.
Are they not even offering some sort of credit monitoring service?
Hey Lat, the women alone at ASU, compared to GULC are worth $100,000!
324: The place was fine and I got a great job because of it; great professors, great atmosphere. I'm just saying that I'm not donating any money to them. I got a JD, and they got my $150,000. End of transaction. I may feel differently if I went to G'Town undergrad; I think an undergrad alma mater prompts some loyalty and devotion that law school doesn't. I'm not bitter at all toward GULC, I just think that asking alumni to donate money before they even graduate is poor form. Maybe after the debt's paid off, I may consider a contribution.
I went to another "T14" law school (whose name I won't mention) that also recently had a similar event. What pissed me off most about it was that I didn't receive my letter (I'm a recent alum) until almost SIX weeks later!
I think I read an angry tone in that wasn't there.
I think I read an angry tone in that wasn't there.
But did not take out the student insurance....why did I get the e-mail? Interesting.
Is any other GU student in the same boat...got the e-mail, but did not take student insurance?
David Cole and Neal Katyal stole the information to give to terrorists.
They love terrorists!
They hate America.
GULC = overrated.
3:56 = American University 1L.
3:56 = American University 1L.
I didn't take out the insurance and I got the email.
GULC = festering TTT in decline.
Obvi.
After blowing over $150k on them I'm more than happy to also donate my personal information so some hacker can take whatever's left...
3:51, I'm a GULC alum who never took the student insurance, but I got the e-mail. I did visit the health center on main campus--once--to meet with a shrink (who was useless). My wife (also an alum, also had her own insurance) did not get the email.
I'm a GULC alum. I didn't take out the insurance and got the e-mail.
Georgetown is an excellent school. Why is this news?
Georgetown is always hated on, and yet it is in fact very UNDER rated - they have a very low USN rank compared with their very high LSAT / GPA ranking.
Yes, GULC is very expensive - and because of this I sometimes wish I had gone to another T14 that was cheaper (and easier to get into). But the quality of professors and overall education was great.
This idenity thing is an embarassment though.
That ho went to U of A, not ASU.
And before anyone goes this route, the girls at ASU pay NO attention to grad students, so that is not a factor.
Lat doesn't say that girl went to ASU. Learn to read.
"Georgetown is always hated on, and yet it is in fact very UNDER rated"
WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? People go to law school to get jobs. I had so many friends at GULC who didn't get jobs. The class size is just too big especially once you factor in all the transfer students they let in so they can make even more tuition money. I still know a GULC grad who is looking for a permanent job after 2.5 years. He's doing contract doc review and sometimes I worry he'll try to kill himself. All of the other top 14's are better.
I also went there for undergrad and received the same email. Georgetown is notoriously backwards with regards to technology (hence the lack of encryption, off-site storage, etc), and the security on campus is laughable (rent-a-cops). I'm surprised this hasn't happened sooner considering the level of crime around the main campus lately (forget about the law center, I wouldn't even walk around there during the day).
Can we stop the GULC hating? GULC was a victim of the undergrad campus. As an alum of both I can tell you things like this happen at main campus, but not as often at GULC.
4:56: Good point. If you walk around the law center you might run into one of "those" people, and we all know that you stay exclusively in northwest DC so that you don't actually encounter anyone from DC. Jackass.
4:54: Your anecdotal evidence is, of course, meaningless. Look at the stats, then get back to us. And, by the way, the large class size is an advantage in the sense that there are many GULC grads out in the world who like to hire other GULC grads.
Yeah, during OCI at GULC there were SOOO MANY GULC grads who only wanted to hire GULC students. Yeah, right. No one cares. IF ANYTHING IT'S HARDER because large firms hire the same number of students often from GULC and places like Cornell even though Cornell has a much smaller class. GULC stinks. It screwed over so many people I know. Only the top 25% did well. I ended up at a mid sized firm not making market. If I had gone to Boalt or Penn this would not have happened.
I finished top 1/3 at GULC. Ivy undergrad. Two years work experience in finance. Zero callbacks at OCI. Graduated last year; still doing contract work. Take from that what you will.
Anyone who actually went to GULC knows that the bottom half of the class struggles to find BIGLAW jobs.
Being slackass alcoholics, most of my friends were in the bottom half at GULC (including me). We all got BIGLAW jobs or MIDLAW that pays market jobs.
The only people who don't get good jobs out of GULC are the Asperger's crew, who botch all their interviews.
The GULC mistake could lead to a temporary problem regarding students' identities, and did not affect the whole class.
The AU mistake (going there) will lead to a permanent problem regarding students' futures, and affects the whole class.
TTT
Look 5:16(2), not everyone can get a biglaw job. If getting one of those jobs was your reason for going to law school, and you got into Boalt or Penn (I'm talking to you 5:14), then you should have gone to Boalt or Penn. Generally, the higher the ranking, the higher the likelihood of scoring a biglaw job. Nevertheless, something like 94% of GULC grads have jobs within 6 mos of graduation.
And, as I said before, 5:16(1), anecdotal evidence doesn't mean much. For example, there are any number of reasons that you may be having difficulty finding a job. Going to GULC may not be one of them.
I have some problems with GULC, but it has many positive traits: e.g. in D.C. with SCOTUS and the hill; many great adjuncts (due to location probably); Supreme Court Institute; best clinical program in the country; many great faculty (Cole, Lazarus, Vladeck, et al.). And yes, the nicest gym in DC...
I went to GULC. Graduated top half. Went to undergrad at a crappy state school in Florida. But I got a biglaw job at a Vault top 20 firm after spending my 2L summer there. The people in my class who did not get jobs right out of law school are the ones who either (a) have NO personality, (b) have too much of the wrong kind of personality (i.e., they play a lot of Dungeons and Dragons), or (c) think that the world owes them something.
5:16 pm - Take a look at your interview style and your attitude. Maybe that has something to do with the fact you are still doing contract work.
I concur with 5:58. If you go to a school like GULC and can't get work then don't think going to Duke would have saved you. The school obviously f-ed up by letting you in/graduating you but you can't blame the school for your sucking when almost everyone gets biglaw jobs. It's the complete opposite of Loyola (LA).
3:51. Good point. David Cole is an asshole.
GW rocks!
9:00 PM. Even you don't believe that.
Former GULC-ie,
Are you at Weil?
right... why do people HATE so much?
the "i went to GULC and i didn't get a job" trolls need to quiet your bitching.
YES some people don't get jobs, but last i checked out employment at grad is 95.5%
http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/
so, 5:16, maybe you should be looking inward for why you are in that 4.5% and not cursing the world? just saying.
mr. "If I had gone to Boalt or Penn this would not have happened." hey guess what? you didn't GET IN to Boalt or Penn. so stfu already.
we are what we are, i'm not going to complain that we are underrated, as true as that may be, and there's no need to say how 'overrated' we are, as true as that may be as well.
there's no need to hate.
were all you people abused as children or something?
GULC 3L here.
Top 60% (being generous to myself with a 3.14 gpa), and I have a Vault firm in DC.
I know people with below a 3.0 with DC biglaw.
Last year 70ish% people found a job through OCI. The people w/o biglaw at GULC that I know are (a) very unsocial (b) have very bad grades or (c) did not want biglaw. And this constitutes only about 1/4 people.
Also, many who troll ATL go to one of the other DC schools and just love to hate on GULC.
Also to the guy who *claims* he was top 1/3 from GULC and couldn't get a callback, I do not think going to any other school would help your situation.
I turned down full rides at several top second tier schools and pay mostly full price at Georgetown. Absolutely no regrets.
Who puts academics over hot ass? NERDS!!
Go Cats!
Eh, it happens. I got this email today too - went to G'town undergrad and grad. The email I got from UCLA a year or so ago was more annoying since I didn't go to UCLA Law. Actually I was rejected from UCLA Law and they still let my personal information get stolen. Sucks to them.
Didn't this just happen with Duke admissions? What the eff is going on with thieves targeting 18 year olds and poor grad students? What kind of students have the credit history you want to steal anyway?
"YES some people don't get jobs, but last i checked out employment at grad is 95.5%"
I think the "I didn't get a job" people are referring to biglaw or other desirable jobs. The employment at grad rate accounts for all jobs, not just desirable jobs.
Who wants to go to GULC or any other T14 and end up working for an insurance defense firm paying $50,000? If you look at our current job listings you can see that a lot of the entry-level job listings do not pay very well.
"Last year 70ish% people found a job through OCI. The people w/o biglaw at GULC that I know are (a) very unsocial (b) have very bad grades or (c) did not want biglaw. And this constitutes only about 1/4 people. "
Since our class size is so large, 1/4 of the people is a lot of students.
Also, how many people do you actually know w/o biglaw jobs? I find it interesting when a poster knows enough people w/o jobs to be able to notice some sort of trend among the unemployed. Did the people you know w/o biglaw jobs tell you their grades? Do you hang out with a bunch of unemployed social retards?
I can see a person who doesn't want biglaw disclosing that fact, but I don't see how you would find out info about the people in the other categories you mentioned. Just curious.
I know someone from GULC w/ a 2.7, including D's first year, who made BigLaw in DC
Yes 1/4 is a lot of people, but I don't know if 1/4 is that different from a number of other similar schools (Duke, Cornell, etc.).
As for who do I know w/o jobs? Not that many - you are right - I was thinking of about 2-3. I know of a few more that just didn't want biglaw and are becoming prosecutors, public interest, etc.
Of the 2-3 I know of, 1 got awful grades (I know that for a fact), 1 I don't know his story at all, and the other is a social dimwit and probably also got awful grades.
GULC isn't perfect - as no school is. But their job-troubles are exaggerated. I also turned down free rides - and I also turned down a few T7-14's to go to GULC, and I have absolutely no regrets what so ever.
If any school was highlighted on ATL, the few who didn't get jobs would be flooding the board with hatred as well.
Went there, got the email, not surprised that a computer was stolen from campus. Same thing happened to me...except that I didn't keep the personal information of thousands of students on my hard drive.
"GULC isn't perfect - as no school is. But their job-troubles are exaggerated."
I think that you're right about that. I just get tired of reading the "anyone who didn't get a job is a social retard/idiot" type posts.
As someone who didn't have a job at graduation but was never asked about their employment status, I have to wonder whether I was included in the 95% or the other 5%. Something tells me it was "assumed" I was employed.
And as someone who didn't have a job at graduation but did have decent grades and nothing but favorable feedback for my interview skills, I also get sick of the comments that anyone from GULC who didn't get a job must be an idiot, socially inept, or come off as abrasive/entitled. Get off your high horses and recognize that beyond EIW getting a job is hard work and merely having grades/personality and even being the hardest worker doesn't gaurantee the prize.
btw, I didn't get the email but had and used the health insurance. I guess they just "assumed" I'd hear about it through abovethelaw or something.
Despite my difficulties in getting employment, eventually it was GULC and only GULC that landed me my desired BigLaw slot. So I can't hate on the place too much.
Graduated from undergrad in '93 and received the email. Went to law school elsewhere. Didn't take out the student health insurance -- if they knew this affected students from 98-06, why the heck did they send to class of '93? Idiots.
3.1 gpa when I interviewed...V40 offers from DC, NYC and Chicago. If you are top third and can't get a job, you're either (a) a self-entitled idiot or (b) that jackass I saw at OCI wearing a bowtie. Sorry, 10:17, but that's how it is.
Wow GULC '09, I guess we have to bow because we're in the presence of a true omniscient who knows how it all is. You're the exact sort of arrogant self-entitled jack@$$ that gives GULC, T14, BigLaw, and lawyers in general a bad name. Enjoy your salary, your empty relationships and your declining liver. That goes for the rest of you with similar sentiments. You don't know jack $h!t about jack $h!t, but it certainly won't stop your pontification from the Ivory Tower.
150k later is a bowtie-wearer.
Bolo, actually. And cowboy boots.
Missed this entry on ATL, didn't get the e-mail, and didn't get snail mail notification until a few days ago. A little peeved it took almost a month to get a letter from GULC about this. On the upside, free credit monitoring for a year. Woo.