After more than 2,000 individuals whose Social Security numbers were exposed, the university could be left with a bill up to a $100,000.

When U. Texas-Arlington reported on July 23 a student health center file server was compromised, it made the aid of Equifax, a credit monitoring agency, readily available to the 2,048 individuals whose Social Security numbers were exposed.

The cost – $ 48 per person. But the university is unsure of how many people will take the offer, said Jerry Lewis, university communications vice president.

Following knowledge of the breach, the university contacted appropriate federal departments and departments on campus like the university police.

UTA police Capt. Jay Tillerson said the department wrote a report on the incident, but doesn’t plan on investigating.

“It was just for the record,” he said.

The university followed protocol, according to the directions listed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Under the department’s regulations, the university must alert impacted individuals, the media and the Health and Human Services department.

The Office of Information Technology learned of the breach June 21.

The server was taken offline immediately and secured, the university reported. After review, OIT learned that data had been compromised four times: Feb. 19 and April 28, 2009, and Jan. 23 and Feb. 10, 2010.

Lewis said the time delay between the incidents and the time they were reported is normal in many companies, which take three or four weeks to perform an investigation. In the university’s case, it had to perform an investigation, alert government agencies and set up a deal with Equifax, he said.

“The last thing you want to do is make that announcement before you’re ready to have a call center and letters sent out,” he said.