The Sunnyvale Sun

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College is alerting students of stolen laptop

By Cody Kraatz

De Anza College has mailed notices to 4,375 students and former students that a laptop computer stolen from the home of an instructor contained those students' personal information.

Letters and e-mails are being sent to individuals who enrolled in the faculty member's mathematics classes at the college between 1991 and 2003, and 2005 through 2007.

Foothill-De Anza Community College District officials said there is no evidence so far that there has been any unauthorized use of the personal information. The laptop was protected by a password, as were the student files.

The stolen laptop contained grading records for De Anza students who took the instructor's math classes, their first and last names and personal identification numbers. This information was contained in class lists maintained by the faculty member to manage grades and attendance.

The laptop, which was the instructor's work computer, was stolen during an Aug. 24 break-in at the instructor's home and the loss was reported to the district on Aug. 27. The laptop also contained some faculty members' personal information and the district has notified those faculty members.

Because some of the students may have moved or changed email addresses since they enrolled, the district is also attempting to notify students about the theft through the media.

Students seeking information about whether their information was contained on the laptop may contact Kathleen Moberg, De Anza College's dean of admissions and records, at mobergkathleen@fhda.edu or 408.864.8292.