A laptop computer, belonging to an outside company which had done work at Virginia Tech and contained personal information on students and employees at the university, was stolen more than six weeks ago. The  company is just now making the theft public.

According to a press release put out by SunGard Higher education, A laptop containing personally identifiable information was stolen from a SunGard Higher Education employee on March 13, 2008. The press release does not say if the theft occurred on the Virginia Tech campus or at some other location.

“While we are not aware of any personally identifiable information having been misused, we are treating this incident as a serious matter,” said Brian Madocks, chief executive officer of SunGard Higher Education in the news release.

Madocks says it notified its customers on April 9th, 2008 about the laptop theft.

SunGard says it will offer free credit monitoring to affected people.  The company also set-up an information center to answer calls, as well as a website with information about the incident.

Click here for FAQ Related to SunGard Higher Education Laptop Theft.

The laptop contained personal information belonging to people who were at Virginia Tech in 2000. It’s
unknown if the names belonged to students or employees.

“On behalf of SunGard Higher Education, I apologize unreservedly to the individuals and institutions affected, added Madocks.

Madocks went on to say in the press release, “Upon notification of the theft, we commenced a series of diagnostic procedures to determine whether the laptop contained personally identifiable information. Our investigation continues and our security specialists remain focused on analyzing the files to determine if additional individuals or institutions have been affected.  We will continue to work with our customers throughout this process and will notify them if more personally identifiable information is discovered.”

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