Glitch exposes personal data of borrowers

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Education Department said Wednesday it would arrange for free credit monitoring for as many as 21,000 student loan borrowers after their personal data appeared on its Web site.
Terri Shaw, the department's chief operating officer for federal student aid, said the people involved are holders of federal direct student loans who used the department's loan Web site -- www.dlssonline.com -- between Sunday and Tuesday.
It is the latest in a string of data thefts and security breaches affecting more than a half-dozen federal agencies in recent months.
Education Department officials attributed the breach to a routine software upgrade, conducted by Dallas-based contractor Affiliated Computers Services Inc., that mixed up data for various borrowers when users accessed the Web site.
Since Sunday, 26 borrowers have complained.
Shaw said the people affected will be contacted by the department by letter and offered free credit monitoring by ACS.
The Web site program includes names, birthdates, Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers and, in some cases, account information for holders of federal direct student loans.
It does not involve those who have loans managed through private companies.
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