Rice University data breach experts available

EXPERT ALERT – Rice University interview studio available. See details below.

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

Rice University data breach experts available

HOUSTON — (Jan. 13, 2014) – Two Rice University experts are available to discuss the large data breaches that Target, Neiman Marcus and three unnamed companies experienced over the holiday season.

Some analysts have questioned the ethical and social issues that the unnamed businesses may face for not quickly disclosing publicly the depth and breath of their breaches.

Photo courtesy: Photos.com/Rice University

Scott Sonenshein, associate professor of management at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, said all of the companies need to answer unresolved questions about the data breaches.

“Companies have a responsibility to protect personal information and to provide timely and transparent information to their customers,” Sonenshein said. “Unresolved questions include how these organizations found out about the data breach and if they could’ve taken reasonable steps beforehand to avoid them. As consumers hand over more of their personal information, it is imperative that organizations create a trusting relationship.”

Christopher Bronk, a fellow in information technology policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, believes more needs to be done on the federal level.

“The recent data breaches at Target and other retailers indicate the enormous difficulty in safely storing large volumes of customer data, including credit and debit card information,” Bronk said. “Despite ever-growing spending on cybersecurity by U.S. firms, breaches continue and serious questions arise regarding the return in capacity for this investment. Data breach issues have been addressed at the state level, but it does not appear that policy or technology is working to prevent these incidents.”

Rice University has a VideoLink ReadyCam TV interview studio. ReadyCam is capable of transmitting broadcast-quality standard-definition and high-definition video directly to all news media organizations around the world 24/7.

To schedule an interview with Bronk or Sonenshein, contact David Ruth, director of national media relations at Rice University, at david@rice.edu or 713-348-6327.

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This release can be found online at news-network.rice.edu/news.

Follow Rice News and Media Relations on Twitter @RiceUNews.
Follow Bronk on Twitter @techpologist.

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,708 undergraduates and 2,374 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice has been ranked No. 1 for best quality of life multiple times by the Princeton Review and No. 2 for “best value” among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. To read “What they’re saying about Rice,” go to http://tinyurl.com/AboutRiceU.