Orange Coast to step up campus security

Deepa Bharath

The bewildering theft of a hard drive from an old library building

has school officials rethinking security for that area of campus.

“We’re going to be putting a new lock system,” Orange Coast

College spokesman Jim Carnett said. “Access to that building will be

severely restricted.”

The building could be renovated as early as spring, he said.

Officials are still mystified about why someone would try to steal

the old computer system and disconnect communication equipment on

Thanksgiving Day.

On Friday, a computer technician at the college reported to Costa

Mesa police that someone had stolen a hard drive and a power strip

from the old library building at Orange Coast College.

The items were recovered the same day in another part of the

building. But Erin Cohn, spokeswoman for the Coast Community College

District, said there was not as much information on the hard drive as

the technician reportedly told police.

“We don’t store important, sensitive student information and

registration information in some old building that no one knows

about,” she said.

The intruder, Cohn said, did some damage by disconnecting the

wires that operate the satellite communication systems and the campus

public safety radios.

“Our signal was down for a while, but all of that equipment has

battery backup,” she said. “It wasn’t really much of a concern to

us.”

That system was used as a means of communication between the three

district colleges, Cohn said. The hard drive that was briefly missing

was worth only about $50, but it operated about $20,000 worth of

software, she said.

Officials are trying to figure out if the intruder intended to

steal anything from the building, Carnett said.

Costa Mesa police will handle the investigation, he said.

“Obviously we’re relieved that nothing was stolen,” Carnett said.

“But why and how this happened still remains a mystery.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@ latimes.com.