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Schools to check security of address database
From: InfoSec News <isn () C4I ORG>
Date: Sun, 6 Aug 2000 04:49:09 -0500
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20000805-0010_1m5address.html By Jill Spielvogel UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER August 5, 2000 ESCONDIDO -- Elementary school district officials will check computer systems security after someone obtained the addresses of L.R. Green parents and mailed them an anonymous letter containing allegations about school staff. The unsigned, 10-page letter and attachments recently were sent to school trustees and apparently nearly all of the parents whose children attend the 1,200-student, kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school, district officials said. The letter alleges that defamatory remarks were made against former Superintendent Nicols Retana and says there was a campaign against him that led to his termination in May. It isn't clear whether the addresses used in the mailing came from a school database, and if so, how they were obtained, Acting Superintendent Ron Guiles said. The list's origin may be impossible to determine, but staff members will examine whether the district has adequate security measures for the computer systems where such address databases are stored, Guiles said. School and district personnel must use passwords to gain access to the system. After the letters arrived, many parents called and said they were concerned about how the sender obtained their addresses, Guiles said. It is not the district's policy to release addresses of students and staff, according to a board statement issued yesterday that apologized to parents and staff members who may have been "inconvenienced." The district will not take any formal action regarding allegations in the letter because the school board has a policy of not investigating anonymous complaints, trustee Joan Gardner said. ISN is hosted by SecurityFocus.com --- To unsubscribe email LISTSERV () SecurityFocus com with a message body of "SIGNOFF ISN".
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