Ball State is investigating safe practices for handling employee and student personal identifiable information (PII) after an Anthem Inc. data breach last year caused at least 140 Ball State employees to experience identify theft and income tax fraud.
Loren Malm, Ball State's interim vice president of information technology, defined PII as any nonpublic information that uniquely identifies a single individual, such as social security numbers. This employee information is sometimes shared to different vendors by the university for various reasons.
These reasons may be because PII is mandatory for the vendors to do their jobs, Malm said. Insurance companies, such as Anthem, need employees’ personal information for identification purposes.
The topic of handling this personal data was discussed at the University Senate meeting on Jan. 21. President Paul W. Ferguson attended the meeting to show his support, while Malm and Bernie Hannon, vice president of business affairs, discussed what precautions should be taken when it comes to sharing PII.
Ferguson said while he recognizes that safety against tax fraud and identity theft is a big issue both locally and globally, he believes Ball State is working to prevent employee and student PII from being leaked.
"The university is committed to promoting and ensuring faculty safety of their data," Ferguson said. "And I think Ball State is doing everything it can to be on the cutting edge of this issue."
In order for employees to protect themselves, Hannon said he recommends watching for signs of tax refund fraud and filing for taxes as soon as possible. Two warning signs are receiving debit cards in the mail unexpectedly or having tax returns rejected.
The university offers assistance for students or staff who are experiencing tax fraud or identify theft.
While these tips can help, when a data breach affects a company, there's often nothing that could have been done to prevent it, Hannon said. The issue is a part of a larger, national problem.
Malm said he predicts that throughout the next few years, the national problem of identity theft will improve because of changes in types of PII. Because social security numbers are becoming more prevalent and easier to access, over time other factors and additional controls and personal identifiers will come into place, he said.
"Social security numbers were intended to be an identifier, not an instrument for identify theft," Malm said.
Ferguson said identity theft is still a relevant and prevalent problem. He said the university has "tried to respond quickly and effectively" since the initial problems nearly one year ago.
Read More
'We know what we need to do:' Ball State softball looks for MAC Tournament berth in final regular season series
By Zach Carter / 18 hours agoBall State will end it's regular season with a three-game series at Central Michigan. The Cardinals are currently the No. 6 team in the Mid-American Conference while the Chippewas are the No. 5 seed.
Yorktown baseballs’ offense stalls early, falls to Shelbyville
By David Moore / YesterdayWith few conference games left on the schedule, this was an important series for the Tigers. However, in the end, the Golden Bears swept the season series over the Tigers with an 11-6 victory.
Students gather to protest for Palestine at Frog Baby Fountain
By Staff Reports / YesterdayA student-led protest kicked off near Frog Baby at 4 p.m. May 1 in solidarity with Palestine amidst the country’s conflict with Israel.
