Almost 8,000 grad students affected in UC Riverside data breach

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- Graduate students at the University of California, Riverside are being warned about the potential for identify theft because a recent theft may have compromised the personal information of almost 8,000 students.

University officials said a desktop containing social security numbers and other sensitive data was stolen from a campus office on March 13.

The computer contained information on current and former graduate students as well as new applicants. Computer science graduate Amlan Kusum said he is not too concerned despite the data breach.

"They're secure. They have encrypted data, and it's very hard to break those encryptions," he said.

But the computer did not have that kind of protection. The university admitted the stolen desktop was not in line with its policy because it was not encrypted.

In a statement, the university apologized for the data breach.

"We have taken steps to individually notify each person whose information could have been compromised," the statement said.

So far there has been no evidence that the information has been used illegally.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the UC Riverside Police Department at (951) 827-5222. University officials said they will offer to buy credit monitoring for a time for students who may have been impacted by the stolen computer.