3.3 Million Borrowers’ Info Stolen

A federal student loan guarantor experienced the largest-ever breach of borrowers’ personal data last week when disks containing the personal information of 3.3 million people were stolen from a safe at its headquarters.

Educational Credit Management Corp. reported that names, addresses, Social Security numbers and other personal data were stolen from its St. Paul, Minn., offices the weekend of March 20-21.

The breach could affect as many as 5 percent of all student-loan borrowers, according to The Wall Street Journal.

ECMC is a guarantor for loans in Oregon, Virginia and Connecticut, but borrowers from all states could be affected. The company plans to notify customers in writing this week.

More than 347 million records containing sensitive information have been compromised in the U.S. since 2005, says the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit consumer group.

ECMC services and insures more than $11 billion in student loans issued by the U.S. Department of Education.

Federal student-loan guarantors such as ECMC have contracts with the federal government to insure student loans against default. Some guarantors also originate student loans, although ECMC does not.

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