Where did the breach take place? Off the coast of Africa.

Who are the victims? About 8,000 students of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi enrolled in the spring, summer and fall semesters last year.

What kind of personal information? Social security numbers and birth dates.

What happened? The chairman of the mathematics department, vacationing in Madagascar off the coast of Africa, lost a flash drive containing the sensitive data.

What was the response? The university is notifying affected parties and plans to provide unspecified help should any fall victim to identity theft. It is continuing to investigate the incident, and the professor could be punished.

Details: The professor, Blair Sterba-Boatwright, had planned to do some work on his vacation, which is why he brought the memory stick with him. He was not violating policy.

Quote: “You might end up getting some letters in the mail saying you might have bills or something else that you don’t even know of.” - student Johnathon Sanchez

Source: “Identity theft may be problem for TAMUCC students,” June 16, KRIS-TV.