Official Notification Letter
April 14, 2007
Office of Human Resources
1590 N. High Street, Suite 300
Columbus, Ohio 43201-2190
Dear Former or Current Ohio State Employee,
We regret to inform you that during the weekend of March 31/April 1 there was a criminal intrusion into a university database of current and former employees and that some of your personal data—your name, Social Security number, employee ID, and date of birth—has been compromised and could be misused.
Staff at the Office of Research, where the attack occurred, discovered the intrusion on April 2 during a routine security review of daily activity logs and immediately took steps to block any further access. The Office of the Chief Information Officer and the Ohio State University Department of Public Safety are investigating the data breach, and the university has informed appropriate off-campus law enforcement agencies.
In order to help safeguard you against harm from misuse of your personal identity, we have arranged for you to receive 12 months of credit protection under the Equifax Credit Watch Gold with 3-in-1 credit watch and protection program, which includes: monitoring of the consumer credit file and email alerts to key changes within 24 hours, unlimited Equifax credit reports, and certain identity fraud expense coverage.
Instructions on how to enroll in this protection program appear at the end of this letter. For any other questions you might have, please call 1-866-515-9332 or 614-460-7483 or visit the web at http://cio.osu.edu/secureinfo/research where you will find additional information about safeguarding your identity.
We regret that your personal information has been subject to unauthorized access due to this attack and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or concern this situation may cause you. The university is committed to maintaining the privacy of employee information. We continually are modifying our systems and practices to enhance the security of personal information and are engaging outside expertise to identify possible additional security measures.
Please accept our most sincere apologies.
Robert Killoren
Associate Vice President and Executive Director, Ohio State Research Foundation
Larry M. Lewellen
Associate Vice President of Human Resources
How to Enroll
Equifax has a simple Internet-based verification and enrollment process.
Visit: http://www.myservices.equifax.com/tri
1.Consumer Information: complete the form with your contact information (name, address and e-mail address) and click “Continue” button. The information is provided in a secured environment.
2.Identity Verification: complete the form with your Social Security Number, date of birth, telephone #s, create a User Name and Password, agree to the Terms of Use and click “Continue” button. The system will ask you up to two security questions to verify your identity.
3.Payment Information: During the "check out" process, provide the following promotional code: <XXXXX> in the “Enter Promotion Code” box. (case sensitive, no spaces, include dash.) After entering your code press the “Apply Code” button and then the “Submit Order” button at the bottom of the page. (This code eliminates the need to provide a credit card number for payment.)
4.Order Confirmation: – Click “View My Product” to access your 3-in-1 Credit Report.
To sign up for US Mail delivery of the product, dial 1-866-937-8432 for access to the Equifax Credit Watch automated enrollment process. Note that all credit reports and alerts will be sent to you via US Mail only.
1.Promotion Code: You will be asked to enter your promotion code as shown above (no spaces, no dash)
2.Customer Information: You will be asked to enter your home telephone number, home address, name, date of birth and Social Security Number.
3.Permissible Purpose: You will be asked to provide Equifax with your permission to access your credit file and to monitor your file. Without your agreement, Equifax can not process your enrollment.
4.Order Confirmation: Equifax will provide a confirmation number with an explanation that you will receive your Fulfillment Kit via the US Mail (when Equifax is able to verify your identity) or a Customer Care letter with further instructions (if your identity can not be verified using the information provided).
