Ga. Tech scrambles as student data exposed

Mistakenly emailed info is third exposure of records in 16 months.

Students demand administrators do more to protect their personal information after the third exposure of records in 16 months.

Georgia Tech stu d ents demanded administrators do more to protect their personal information after officials said Thursday a staff member mistakenly emailed data, such as student identification numbers, to more than 1,000 students, the

third exposure of such records at the school in 16 months.

The information included in the email attachment that was sent included student names, ethnicity, Georgia Tech email addresses, and grade-point averages. The information did not include Social Security numbers or birthdates, officials said.

The disclosure is similar to a July 2018 incident where someone at

the university mistakenly emailed personal information of nearly 8,000 College of Computing students to fellow students. Georgia

Tech has about 33,000 students.

In both cases, the information included student names, identification numbers and gradepoint averages. In March, Georgia Tech’s system was hacked, expos

ing names and other information of present and former students.

“I don’t understand why this keeps happening,” said Wren Howell, 23, a senior, who said his information was shared. Georgia Tech officials said the

email was sent by a staff member in the university’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The intent was to attach an invitation to a sponsored lunch and learn event, spokeswoman Denise Ward said.

Georgia Tech officials were unsure Thursday how many students’ data were included in the email. More than 37,000 email addresses were included in the data leak. Some Georgia Tech students had multiple email addresses that were part of the data that was leaked.

Some students on campus Thursday complained the disclosure violated federal education privacy protection guidelines.

Howell said he was dismayed Georgia Tech hadn’t discussed offering credit monitoring or other protections.

“Until they do something about it, this is going to keep happening,” he said.

First-year student Emerald White, who said her infor- mation was exposed, said Georgia Tech needs better firewall and other safeguards to protect their information.

“That’s pretty scary that you can have your information out there like that,” said White, 19, an electrical engi- neering major. “When is it going to stop?”

Georgia Tech sent an email late Wednesday to affected students explaining some details. Officials posted a message on Georgia Tech’s website Thursday insisting they’re working to protect student information.

“An emergency response team has been convened,” the website message said. “The team will work to implement immediate corrective action and enact comprehensive changes to Geor- gia Tech’s data governance enterprise.”

Georgia Tech is one of the most academically compet- itive schools in the nation, and grade-point averages are among the most sensitive pieces of information for students.

Georgia Tech did not identify the worker who sent the email. Georgia Tech is reviewing what disciplinary action may be appropriate, Ward said.