[MSN] Boston. The Museum of Science has notified 140 patrons that their names, credit card numbers, and other personal information were exposed on the museum's website because of a contractor's error, but officials said there has been no evidence of fraud or id

[MSN]

Museum says data of patrons was public
By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff  |  March 28, 2008

The Museum of Science has notified 140 patrons that their names, credit card
numbers, and other personal information were exposed on the museum's website
because of a contractor's error, but officials said there has been no
evidence of fraud or identity theft.

Museum officials mailed notices Wednesday to the affected credit card
holders, who took classes at the museum. They also notified another 183
people whose personal, but not financial, information was exposed. Officials
learned March 13 that a file of information from the course-registration
database, which also included contact information and credit card expiration
dates, could be reached through the museum's website.

A museum spokesman said the file's visibility was an inadvertent mistake,
not a malicious attack. The information was supposed to be stored on the
internal server.

"There's no indication the information was accessed for improper or
fraudulent purposes," said Sofiya Cabalquinto.

The exposed file was created in early 2007 by an information contractor
working on the museum's computer systems. It included information about
students' specific classroom requirements or health concerns, such as
allergies, but Cabalquinto said associating the information with specific
students would be difficult.

The file was immediately removed, she said. She was unable to say how long
the information was available. Officials learned of the problem from someone
outside the museum who stumbled upon the information during a random search.

"We take the privacy and security of our visitors' information very
seriously and have taken steps to ensure such incidents do not recur in the
future," the museum said in a statement.

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