UMMC Providing Identity Theft Insurance to Students

The University of Mississippi Medical Center says it will give students free insurance against identity theft after an accidental privacy breach.

On Wednesday, UMMC mistakenly sent about 190 people an email that had a spreadsheet listing Social Security numbers, grade-point averages and other personal information of its 2,279 students.

The school said Friday that 115 opened the email, but it couldn’t determine how many opened the spreadsheet.

UMMC spokesman Tom Fortner told The Clarion-Ledger that students will automatically be enrolled for a year of insurance against identity theft.

Dr. James Keeton, vice chancellor for health affairs, says it will cost UMMC “six figures” to provide the coverage. Keeton says a longtime employee mistakenly attached the spreadsheet and quickly tried to recall the email.