SAN BENITO — An online auction in the San Benito School District sold thousands of computers and tablets, some of which contained personal data of employees and students, the computer store owner said Wednesday.
In an online auction on July 23, the district sold more than 2,000 computers and more than 1,500 tablets, according to records from the South Texas Auction Co., co-owner of Brownsville-based RDA Technologies. One David Avila said:
Avila used about 700 hard drives before discovering that at least 11 hard drives contained district data such as employee and student names, phone numbers, addresses, student grades and bank account information. It states that it has purchased a district computer.
Of the 11 computers he said he found personal information on, one was destroyed, he said.
Now he is offering to sell 10 computers and 503 computers he has not tested to the district for $99,579.04. This number is based on computer brand and model.
“They asked me to sell the equipment back,” he said. We didn’t ask — you asked for a price.”
But he says he can’t sell the nearly 200 computers he’s refurbished to the school district because the inspection didn’t find the district’s information, and the school district has contracted his company to destroy the computer’s hard drives. So officials can rely on his examination, he added.
“We have a great reputation and that speaks for itself,” says Avila. “Why do people trust us with data destruction?”
company offer
During nearly three months of discussions with the school district, Avila said officials offered him $138,619 to purchase the computer he purchased for about $29,000, but district officials said denied the allegations.
Avila, on the other hand, said she declined the offer because she didn’t want to sign the confidentiality clause that was part of the contract.
“We will only sell if there is no non-disclosure agreement,” he said. “We don’t want to be complicit in hiding the truth.”
computer buyer
Meanwhile, a woman in Utah said her husband also bought the district’s computers during an auction before discovering the district had not completely wiped the hard drives of at least one computer.
“So far we have only been able to identify one computer and its hard drive has not been wiped,” the woman said in a private message on Facebook.
Field survey
early this month in Avila’s office, Valley Morningstar inspected the computer Avila selected and found the teacher’s bank account number. Part of the teacher’s bank account number. Teacher list with name, username and email. Student name, identification number and grades. A failed list of students, including their names. Immigration student list including name, student identification number and grade. Her IP and MAC numbers to local copiers and printers.
The Proposed Contract Has Been Discussed
Last Friday, Superintendent Teresa Cerberon posted a statement on the district’s website saying Avila had offered to enter into a contract specifying that computer hard drives be wiped while signing a non-disclosure agreement. rice field.
On Wednesday, Avila denied having been offered to enter into such a deal.
At a meeting on October 31 with Servellon and Todd English, the district’s technical director, the terms of such an agreement were “mentioned,” Avila said.
“It was mentioned,” he said. “We mentioned the types of services we offer, but we never offered them as a solution.”
District question data
District officials first issued a statement last month, informing the public about the sale of computers.
“The San Benito CISD previously publicly notified that RDA Technologies, a local electronics recycler, purchased computer devices from the district that may contain historical data from the district,” Servellon said last week. said on Friday. “When the school district learned of this, it contacted RDA Technologies to reacquire the associated device and identify any information the device contained.”
“Over the course of several weeks, Avila repeatedly refused to provide the school district with additional details about the information purportedly contained in the purchased device, prompting the school district to redeploy the laptop and CPU to conduct its own analysis. I tried to get it,” she said.
“Despite repeated efforts to reach a reasonable resolution with RDA Technologies, the district has been unable to independently substantiate allegations that sensitive personal information resides on these devices.” she said.
“To enable the school district to conduct a thorough analysis of devices purchased by RDA Technologies, identify specific individuals with whom sensitive personal information may be associated, and provide appropriate services to those individuals. Until then, sensitive personal information will be misleading and irresponsible for district staff and students,” Cerveron said.
“The district also reported this matter and RDA Technologies’ actions to the Consumer Protection Division of the Texas Attorney General’s Office.”
Avila: The company offers inspections
Avila, meanwhile, said he gave district officials the chance to inspect the computers.
On October 28th, he said, English checked the computers in the company’s office.
“At the time, RDA Technologies only allowed district personnel to briefly review two devices, neither of which contained sensitive personal information,” Servellon said. says. “Additionally, Avila’s personal representation did not include any reference to the presence of sensitive personal information on the purchased device.”
Avila said she also offered authorities the opportunity to inspect the computer on Jan. 11.
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