Though it happened more than a month ago, UNC employees are still unsatisfied with the University’s response to December’s data breach.
A petition, which criticizes the way the incident was handled, has garnered almost 100 signatures in a little more than a week. And at a Board of Trustees meeting last week, members apologized for the University’s response to the breach.
The incident resulted in the accidental release of sensitive information, such as Social Security numbers in some instances, of approximately 6,500 employees, former employees and students.
David Brannigan, who works in Grounds Services, created the petition, which he handed out at the UNC Employee Forum community meeting two weeks ago. Many employees felt the situation was not being treated seriously, he said.
“The solution that the administration first suggested was inadequate,” Brannigan said.
Charles Streeter, chairman of the Employee Forum, said many employees have expressed frustration because they were first notified of the breach by a letter sent on Dec. 11 or 12.
Streeter said at first he did not think the letter was important and tossed it aside, as did many others. He also said he did not know about the breach until Dec. 16, when an employee brought it to his attention.
“There could have been another form of communication, in addition to the mailing,” he said.
Patty Courtright, a spokeswoman for the University, said UNC’s Information Security Office is always developing stronger approaches to data security.