Case file: University of Southern California
Every government filing on this incident, the dates as stated, and the days to notice against each state's statute. Built from the records on Nov 9, 2026, agency link on every row. Not legal advice.
The incident
- Breach window
- Sep 28, 2021
- Discovered
- Oct 1, 2021, as stated in the California letter
- State and federal records
- 2 filings, Dec 22, 2021 to May 5, 2022
- Residents counted
- No state publishes a resident count for this incident
- Everyone affected
- No filing gives a total
- Information exposed
- Social Security number
- Offered to those affected
- credit or identity monitoring through Experian (term not stated in the letter we read)
- Third party named
- No
- Days to notice
- Past the statutory period in California, counted from discovery to the state's first record
- Prior incidents
- 2 earlier incidents on record for this organization
The letter: "On October 1, 2021, USC learned that a professor lost an external hard drive on or about September 28, 2021."
Filings
| Agency | Record date | People | In total | Days to notice | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California California AG | May 5, 2022 | Not published | Later filing, first record Dec 22, 2021 | Letter Record | |
| California California AG | Dec 22, 2021 | Not published | 82 days, statute 30 days, over | Letter Record |
People is the count the filing gives, residents of the state unless marked total. Days to notice runs from the discovery date the letter states, or from the end of the breach window when no letter states one, to the date on the state's first record of the incident. "Over" marks a count past the days the state's statute allows for notice to residents. The statute's trigger is a question of fact, the days are arithmetic.
Notice timing, state by state
- 82 days from discovery (Oct 1, 2021) to the California record (Dec 22, 2021). Statute: 30 days from discovery or notification of the breach (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.82).
The statutes
- California: 30 days to notify residents from discovery or notification of the breach, Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.82. Sample notice to the Attorney General when more than 500 Californians are notified, within 15 days of the consumer notice (effective 2026).
Prior incidents by University of Southern California
| Records | Breach window | Filed with | People |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 11, 2016 | Not stated in the filings | California | n/a |
| Jun 29, 2012 | Not stated in the filings | California | n/a |
Filings more than six months apart are shown as separate incidents.
Sources and method
Records as published by California AG. Letter facts (discovery date, monitoring, third party) are read from the consumer letter the agency posted, 2 letters read for this incident, and quoted so you can check them. Texas and HHS publish no letters. First-seen times on each record page. Spot an error? Email support@breachtally.com with this page link.