FAQ's

What was in the speaker list?

In addition to Social Security numbers for some of the speakers, the document contained other business information such as contact numbers, addresses, training topics and federal employer identification numbers.

Is there any evidence that the information has been misused?

No. We have no evidence that the information has been misused.

Has any medical or credit card information been compromised?

No, CORE does not maintain medical or credit card information.

Why were social security numbers listed on a list of speakers?

The office kept the list as a business document so it could process payments for speakers.

Was this an IT- or computer-network-related security breach?

No. This was human error – a clerical error. This did not result from an attack on the system.

Whose server was this on?

This wasn’t a server problem. This was human error of a person inadvertently posting material to CORE’s web site. CORE’s web site is hosted by a private, third-party provider.

How will you protect these and other social security numbers in the future? What are you going to do so this doesn’t happen again?

This is the central focus of our evaluation.

CORE is looking at this from a number of angles, including business processes, training, data protection, human resources, and best practices. Again, this was a case of human error.

As the evaluation progresses, we’ll be in a better position to know where to focus our attention. We will post updates on the CORE website.

What is CORE?

CORE is an osteopathic medical education consortium comprising member teaching hospitals, clinical training sites, and four osteopathic medical schools. Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine is the central academic member of CORE. CORE was founded about 12 years ago.

What is Ohio University’s relationship with CORE?

CORE is an independent organization, of which the College of Osteopathic Medicine is a partner and central member. Hospitals need to have an academic partner to sponsor their internships and residencies. OU-COM is the administrative arm for academic programs for CORE.

What is RPAC?

RPAC stands for Residency Program Advisory Committee. These CORE committees are formed to coordinate education programs for osteopathic physicians-in-training. Each RPAC has a chair, and the Web page was created back in February to house resources for RPAC chairs.