University CIO Steps down

Ohio University's CIO has stepped down following previously reported security breaches that compromised 367,000 personal records containing Social Security Numbers and other private data.

In a public statement published by the university, current CIO William Sams has said, "...it has become clear to me that a new energy level and skill set is going to be required in order to allow our IT organization to realize its potential." In response to numerous security breaches in April and May 2006, and first reported in June, the university has formed a Security Incident Response Team, performed a comprehensive security audit, and has worked with forensics experts and the FBI to track down the attackers.

In addition to the announcement, the university has also suspended its director of computing and network services, Tom Reid, and Todd Acheson, its systems manager.

The announcement of William Sams' departure is a rare example of a senior official taking responsibility for his group's security failures as the university makes significant attempts to become more transparent. Ohio University's board of trustees recently decided to spend up to $4M to fix the university's security issues.