UF students who were eligible for Bright Futures Scholarships between 2005 and 2007 may be affected by a computer security breach at Northwest Florida State College.
The college is investigating the breach and will notify people if their personal information, including Social Security numbers, could be accessed from the Internet, according to a UF news release.
UF was informed of the breach last week, but it could be up to 45 days from the time the college found out about the leak until people are notified, UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes said.
“It’s a huge, long, lengthy process,” Sikes said.
No leaks occurred at UF, and the university is referring people with questions to Northwest Florida State College.
Erica Bass, a 24-year-old UF alumna, said she’s not sure the Bright Futures database has any information she’d be worried about, but she was concerned she hadn’t heard about the breach yet.
“I would want to know what kind of information could’ve been compromised,” she said. “I feel like this should be maybe bigger news.”
Bright Futures recipients of the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 academic year who attended any Florida college or university should call 1-800-688-0656 with questions.
If you believe you may be the victim of identity theft, contact the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov/idtheft or call 1-877-438-4338.
Contact Erin Jester at ejester@alligator.org.
