Found confidential information on my work computer

issac

New Member
Jurisdiction
Florida
I work at a small educational institute. When I go to my work computer to search for a file for my class, I constantly find confidential information particularly faculty members' course evaluation forms. That has been happening in the last 3 yrs. I tried to delete them but I could not. One time I must have pushed print wrongly. Anyway, someone anonymously has been sending these evaluation forms via mail to the different faculty members in the institute. Now the IT dept. saying that it is me because they track the print outs .The institute sent me a letter saying that they sent a letter to the police to investigate and they might conduct inquires. I don't understand, is it my faulty or their faulty to leave sensitive information on my computer. Secondly, the letters sent to different colleagues do not bear my name or my signature. Moreover, some of them even have different signatures that are not mine. Lastly, why confidential information (course evaluations, emails, financial statements) is left on my computer then accusing me of sending these letters because of print outs coming from my computer. I don't know about the law but if I were the police first thing to ask is; how did anyone get hold of this confidential information (i.e., course evaluations) am I right??? Also, if the police come and ask me should I submit my fingerprints?? Is it a crime?? Don't know?? Appreciate your assistance
 
Documents just don't 'show up' on computers. o_O

Is this a mapped/shared drive? Is the computer used by others? Do you have your own logins or is there a 'generic' login that everyone uses?
 
Kat makes an excellent point, but that's not surprising since Kat is my go-to girl about all things computer. I assumed when I read your post that other people had been using it, but that does beg the question Kat raises about logins. I think we need more info to make sense of this.
 
I don't know about the law but if I were the police first thing to ask is; how did anyone get hold of this confidential information (i.e., course evaluations) am I right???

You would be best served NOT to know how any information you didn't place in your computer got there.

That said, most enterprises expect employees to report suspicious activity, insofar as a company supplied computer is concerned.

It may be too late to worry about that which you, perhaps failed to do six months, or even 30 days ago.



Also, if the police come and ask me should I submit my fingerprints??

Watch this video, and after you've listened to three minutes (at least) of the video you'll know what to do if you encounter the police or any law enforcement official.
But, its best of you watch the entire video.
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Is it a crime?? Don't know??

No, IT (if you mean using the word IT) is not a crime.
It is a part of speech, specifically a pronoun.
 
And when documents you don't believe you should be able to see showed up on your computer and you contacted IT to solve it, what were you told? You did try to find out why you had access you should not have, correct? I too question how you could "accidentally" open these files and send them to others or print them out. If you see a file that is not yours, don't open it. If you do by mistake, close it.

Course evaluations may be considered confidential by the institution but there is no reason legally that they can not be shared. However, if it looks to them like you or someone else hacked into files you should not have, they certainly can contact the authorities.
 
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