Data scanning FAQ

Frequently asked questions about the project to protect confidential personal information

In the questions below, Social Security numbers and credit card numbers are referred to as "confidential numbers."

General questions

Answer:: Identity Finder software helps individuals and businesses prevent identity theft, by finding and securing personally identifiable information (PII)—like Social Security Numbers, credit card numbers, bank account data, and passwords—stored in files, emails, web browser data, and system areas. Once the data is located, owners have the option to shred the information, quarantine it to a secure location, or protect it through encryption.

How does Identity Finder address programs and memory, and how does that affect the searching of large files?

Answer:: Identity Finder uses IFilter for most programs, so that the native API (Application Programming Interface) of the program can be used to search for sensitive information. Identity Finder needs to have a contiguous block of 128 megabytes of memory for searching files—hence the file size limitation of 128 megabytes. If you manage a file server, search the server based on file size to determine the existence of large files.

Identity Finder scans of Excel files saved in pre-Office 2007 versions are not displaying positive results for SSN even though I know there are SSNs in the file. Why not?

Answer:: Nine-digit numbers with no dashes or spaces formatted in cells as General, Text, or Number saved in Excel files prior to the Office 2007 version will not be shown as SSNs in Identity Finder results. The same file saved in the Office 2007 format will find and report the SSNs. Version 4.0 of Identity Finder, scheduled for release in early September 2009, will fix this problem by avoiding reliance upon third party filters.

How fast does Identity Finder search?

Answer:: It depends on the amount of data and the number of matches found. The more matches found, the more slowly Identity Finder searches. A thorough initial search will speed up all subsequent searches.

Will it constantly re-find the same files that have matches?

Answer:: Yes. Once having found a file with specified search terms, Identity Finder will continue to report the same file. However, if “Use search history and only search new or modified files” is checked, then Identity Finder will not scan files that are unchanged since the last scan.

Why is data scanning necessary?

Answer:: In its role as an educational institution, a research institution, and an employer, Yale must collect a variety of personal information about students and members of the faculty and staff. Social Security numbers (SSNs) are one of the most sensitive types of information that Yale holds because they can be the key to obtaining many other types of personal and financial data. Credit card numbers (CCNs) are also highly sensitive for the obvious reason that they can be used to make unauthorized purchases. Moreover, if an unauthorized person gains access to or acquires confidential numbers held by Yale, the University may have a legal obligation to notify the persons affected.

How does the process work?

Answer:

You will receive an email from Yale's Training Management System (TMS), stating that you have a requirement to complete the Self Data Scan. Follow the instructions in the email explaining how to do so.
Scan your computer to identify the nature and location of potentially confidential information such as Social Security numbers or credit card numbers.
If you discover files with confidential numbers, follow these guidelines:

Delete files that you do not need and that you do not have an obligation to preserve.
If you must preserve the files, but the files no longer need to include confidential numbers, delete those numbers from the files. This process is called “de-identification,” and uncouples confidential numbers from other personal identifying information, such as names and addresses. For example, if you have old class and grade lists that include SSNs as the student identifier, you can delete the column of SSNs and preserve the remaining information. If you have any questions about how to do this, you should seek help from your IT support person or contact the Help Desk at 203-432-9000 or email helpdesk@yale.edu.
If you believe that you must retain files with the confidential numbers in place, you must obtain permission to do so from your supervisor and submit a request to Information Secuirty for data encryption. Your IT support provider will need to encrypt the files.

Once you have completed reviewing the identified files and have taken any required action, you will need to confirm with TMS that you have completed the Self Data Scan requirement.

Do I have to scan? I know where my confidential information is or I know I have none.

Answer:: Most people are unaware of at least some of the confidential data on their computers. We encourage you to remove confidential data any time – you don’t need to wait to scan to do so. But you really should take the time to scan your computer, especially if you’ve got years worth of data on it or inherited it from a previous user.

What can I do in advance to prepare?

Answer:: Review your stored data and delete old files you no longer need. Don’t forget to review your email attachments folder and delete attachments you no longer need and are not otherwise obligated to preserve. If you do this preparatory work, the scan should produce far fewer results and be easier for you to process.

It is important to perform a back-up of your computer prior to scanning. The scan itself won’t do anything to your data, but if you accidentally remove or shred a file as you process the results of the scan, the only way to retrieve the will be through the network backup service, if you have an account and regularly use the service to back up your computer.

Am I able to perform the scan myself?

Answer:: Yes; you can perform scan yourself by following the instructions located in the software library.

Who will know the results of the scan?

Answer:: Your supervisor will be aware of your obligation to perform the scan of your computer and if the task has been completed. However, unless you request the assistance of your IT service provider, only you will be able to review and respond to the data scan results. If you have any concerns about personal files on your computer, you should remove them before the scan takes place.

Will someone help me with scanning my computer(s)?

Answer:: It is the individual’s responsibility to scan the computers used for Yale-related work. Of course, your IT support provider can help you download and install the scanning software if you have trouble doing so.

If I do not confirm that I have reviewed the documents and taken required action what will happen?

Answer:: If you have not confirmed your actions via TMS, you will receive a reminder email. Further delay will result in a notification to your supervisor.

When is the best time to do my scanning?

Answer:: You can perform your scanning at any time. The program works in the background and will not impact you while you do your regular work. If you have an older computer, you might notice the scanning tool slows down the performance of your computer; in that case, we advise you to consider running the scan overnight.

Depending on how many files the scan identifies, reviewing and deleting confidential information may be time-consuming, so we recommended that you review the results at a time convenient for you.

How many times can I scan my computer?

Answer:

You may rerun the scanning software as frequently as you wish.
To rescan a Windows devices follow the following steps:

Start
Select All Programs
Select Identity Finder
Select Identity Finder Enterprise Edition
Double click on start

To rescan a Macintosh devices follow the following steps:

Double-click on your hard drive
Open the application folder
Double-click Identity Finder
Press Start

What if I use a laptop that I take home in the evening?

Answer:: You don’t need to be connected to the network to run the scan, only to download the scanning software. Connect to the Yale network and follow the instructions for downloading the software appropriate for your computer’s operating system. Once you have the software installed, you can then run the software at any time.

Will I be disciplined for having confidential numbers on my computer?

Answer:: The purpose of the scan is to protect the personal information of students and employees, not to invade privacy or uncover wrongdoing. You will not be disciplined for failing to delete files that you received or created in the scope of your work at Yale. However, if a scan reveals that an employee has used his or her computer in violation of the law or in violation of Yale’s Information Technology Appropriate Use Policy, the University cannot ignore that information, and it will take the same action that it would have taken had the information come to light in any other circumstances.

File specific questions

What types of files are scanned?

Answer:

The tool in use for Windows and Macintosh will examine all files on your system for Social Security, credit card, and bank account numbers. The Windows tool will examine email messages and attachments. The tool in use for Linux attempts to inspect the following types of files for Social Security and credit card numbers:

Brio Query files (bqy)
Office 2003 formats (.doc, .ppt, .xls)
Text files (.txt)
Archives (.zip)
Access databases (.mdb)
Filemaker Pro databases (.fp3)

Other file types are not examined by the scanning software. In particular, email messages are not being examined, although email file attachments of the above file types will be scanned.

What if I have Yale files on my home computer or portable media?

Answer:: You can use the scanning software on those devices, too. Just follow the same steps outlined above.

Can I start deleting files or confidential numbers before the scan?

Answer:: Yes. There is no need to wait for the scan if you know you have files with confidential numbers.

Are there other types of documents that I have to preserve, even if they contain confidential numbers?

Answer:: Yes, Yale remains subject to other document retention requirements, such as requirements governing research, medical, tax, and certain personnel records. If you have any questions about document retention requirements in relation to this project, you should email your questions to information.security@yale.edu, and you will receive advice on how to proceed.

What if I can’t identify the file type of a file in my results?

Answer:: Request assistance from your Support Provider to identify whether it’s your mailbox.

If you use Thunderbird, your local mailbox (without a file extension) may show up as a result of the scan. If it does -- or you’re uncertain whether it is your mailbox -- select “Ignore” and complete the remainder of your remediation; then save the scan results file. Follow the procedure above for any file types for which you are uncertain.

How can I shred or ignore multiple files?

Answer:: For Windows machines, see “Selecting multiple locations” and “Filtering results” in the Identity Finder Guide.; For Macintosh machines, see “Selecting multiple locations” in the Identity Finder Guide Mac Edition.

What are some common files that are identified as containing confidential Social Security or credit card numbers, but can be ignored?

Answer:

The following files do not require remediation on a Windows machine:

spacesys.xls at any location
c:\program files\common files\java\Update\Base Images\
c:\program files\Qualcomm\Eudora\plugins\StaticJunkDB.txt
c:\program files\spybot – search & destroy\updates\startup.zip

Any AdAware Log files can be safely ignored.

On a Macintosh, some common files that do not require remediation are:

Adobe help files
.ini files
some .xml files
some .html files

How do I recover a file that I accidentally deleted?

Answer, if you are using Yale's network backup service:

For Windows computers: Go to the Start menu
-- Programs -- Tivoli Storage Manager –
Backup-Archive GUI
Then browse to your file and click restore.

For Macintosh computers: Go to the applications folder located on the hard drive
Open Tivoli Storage Manager folder
Double-click the Tivoli Storge Manager icon
Click Restore.

Some files identified in the results contain no Social Security or credit card information. Do I have to delete them? Have I completed my requirement if none of the files contain this information?

Answer:: If none of the files contain Social Security or credit card information, you are finished and can complete your TMS “Self Data Scan” requirement. You do not need to delete such files.

Macintosh / Linux specific questions

I am a Macintosh user. Where can I find the log file?

Answer:

To find the log file on a Windows machine, do the following:

Go to your hard drive
At the top level, you’ll find Scan_Results
Open folder
Clicking on any link opens the file in the appropriate program

To find the log file on a Macintosh machine, do the following:

Go to your hard drive
Locate the logs folder on the root of the hard drive
Open folder
Double-click the log file to open the Console

I am a Macintosh user and my operating system is below 10.4 or on a PPC platform, what do I need to do?

Answer:: You need to upgrade your Operating System to a minimum of 10.4 or you will need to use other data scanning tools available in the Yale Software Library. If you have questions contact your local support person.

I'm using Identity Finder on my Mac. Are there any Mac-specific issues I need to be aware of?

Answer:: Yes. Identity Finder does not search in directories containing files without filename extensions (e.g. .doc, .html, .xls, .pdf). It also does not search.
Files created in Mac OS 9 and earlier did not have filename extensions by default, and it is possible to override the Mac OS X default and save files without extensions. If you have files created by pre-OS X versions of Mac OS or have intentionally removed extensions from your OS X file names, Identity Finder will not search these files or any other files sharing a directory with them. (Note: Filename extensions may be present but hidden from display; to show filename extensions for all files, choose Finder > Preferences and click Advanced, then select Show all file extensions

Does Identity Finder scan Entourage for sensitive files?

Answer:: Identity Finder mac versions prior to 1.5 do not scan Entourage email clients for sensitive files. (1.5 is current in testing by the vendor)

I am a Linux user and I am not sure of my operating system or I do not run SUSE OS what should I do?

Answer:: Request assistance from your local support provider.

Eudora / Thunderbird specific questions

I am a Eudora 6.2 user and I receive an error running tool. What should I do?

Answer:: Follow these instructions:

Go into the Tools menu
Options at the bottom. In the Options dialog box, there is a MAPI category near the bottom of the list.
Change From Always to Never (preferred) or Only When Eudora Is Running.

I am a Thunderbird or Eudora user and my mailbox shows as needing remediation. What should I do?

Answer:: You should NOT shred the file types below, as you will lose your mail access:
*.mfs at any location
*.toc at any location
*.mbx at any location

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Data scanning FAQ

Frequently asked questions about the project to protect confidential personal information