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Data breach to be covered with insurance: Vancouver schools buy insurance to protect current, past employees
Nov 13, 2009 (The Columbian - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Vancouver Public Schools will purchase fraud prevention and identity restoration coverage for all employees affected by last week's security breach, the district announced today.
The new insurance extends to another 1,900 past employees whose personal and payroll data remains in the district's online database -- raising to about 5,200 the number of people impacted.
The coverage comes at the suggestion of the Vancouver Education Association, the teachers union that represents many of the 3,300-plus current employees involved. The VEA researched options available through its National Education Association ties, and passed them to the school district.
"We're doing it because it's the right thing to do," said Steve Olsen, chief fiscal officer for Vancouver schools.
"We care about our employees, we care about their financial health," Olsen said.
Letters and e-mails were to be sent to affected current and former workers, including retirees and substitute teachers, beginning today, Olsen said.
The coverage offers unlimited fraud prevention and resolution services (hotline support, resolution services and insurance claim processing assistance), and identity theft insurance up to $25,000.
The firm chosen is Identity Fraud, Inc., based near Concord, Calif.
"We're applauding the move that the district is making," said Ann Giles, VEA president.
Giles said several member teachers already have changed banking accounts or changed account numbers. "People panicked initially; it's settled down," she said of the response.
So far, Olsen said no one has reported an actual fraud-related loss.
Cost to the district for the new insurance will be about $31,000, Olsen said. With $10,000 paid by its own insurance, the district's out-of-pocket cost should be $21,000.
The coverage will extend one year from the breach, which was uncovered on Monday.
That's when district fiscal managers confirmed that someone had gained unauthorized password access to Vancouver's fiscal-personnel database system, physically housed at Educational Service District 112 headquarters in Vancouver.
An unauthorized person "went into a check print module and tried to print (payroll) checks" but was unsuccessful, Olsen said. That and other attempts the previous Friday likely exposed the names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and payroll and private banking information for the thousands of employees.
The district internally and publicly disclosed the security breach late Monday afternoon.
Criminal investigation of the breach continues by a Digital Evidence Cybercrime Unit operated jointly by the Vancouver Police Department and the Clark County Sheriff's Office.
Assisting are the school district, ESD 112 and the Washington School Information Processing Cooperative, supplier of a statewide software network for school fiscal-personnel data.
No data from other Southwest Washington school systems who partner with ESD 112 is believed to be exposed. Nor is Vancouver student information, including computerized grade records, linked to the larger network.
Olsen said ESD 112 told the Vancouver district not to scrub past employees' data when it converted to the regional authority's software platform earlier this year. He said he didn't know the reason.
Meantime, the school district shared with employees police tips on how to evade opportunistic scammers or "phishers." Some employees already have received dubious telephone calls requesting banking account passwords, credit card numbers or other sensitive information.
The district urged employees not to offer any data without verifying the legitimacy of the request (demand and double-check a return telephone number, for instance).
Howard Buck: 360-735-4515 or howard.buck@columbian.com.
To see more of The Columbian, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.columbian.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash.
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