Paying Attention to the Numbers

by Roberta Lembke

There are two numbers that most folks don’t pay enough attention to, your social security card and your credit card numbers.  As individuals we need our social security numbers and many of us rely on our credit cards.  As employees of the college we often use these numbers in our daily work lives.  The problem is that these two little numbers can create significant problems for the college, our customers (students, faculty, staff and alumnus) and for you, especially when these numbers fall into the wrong hands.  These two numbers require some special handling to maintain the necessary confidentiality and security.  

1. Do not store credit cards or social security numbers on your computer hard drive, be it a desktop or a laptop.  If your machine is stolen, the data is stolen too!  This data should NEVER be removed from campus.  Laptop theft is the most common way thieves gain access to confidential data.
   
   
2. Don’t put credit card numbers or social security data on flash drives or CD’s.  Just think of the number of times you have seen a stolaf-extra mail message asking for help locating a lost flash disk!
   
   
3. Never set your browser to remember your username and passwords for websites.  You should also turn off the “autocomplete” feature in your browser.  Remember, if you set your browser to remember your passwords and other information to make it easier and quicker for you to get in, it will also be easier and quicker for the thief to get in!
   
   
4. If you have to submit confidential or sensitive data via the web (especially Social Security or credit card numbers) make sure it is done with encryption.  You can tell if a web site uses encryption when you see the padlock icon in the corner of the page.  Firefox, our recommended browser, also turns the location bar yellow.