The largest school board in Newfoundland and Labrador is reviewing security at all of its schools, in the wake of separate thefts of computers holding student data.

The Eastern School District will review both the physical and data security at all 120 of its schools, director Darrin Pike said.

Director Darrin Pike says the Eastern School District wants 'to minimize the chance of this happening again.'
(CBC)

Last week, three computers were stolen from Acreman Elementary in Green's Harbour, in a security breach involving 84 students.

In February, one of three laptops stolen from the board's headquarters in St. John's contained personal data on about 28,000 students.

"I guess my mission in life is trying to prevent this from happening, you know, and finding out if there's any way for us to minimize the chance of this happening again," Pike said.

"Most people would think, 'Well, you should've known that beforehand,' and I'm not disagreeing with you, but we've got to learn from our experiences and move forward, and that's what we're trying to do."

Pike said he has asked Newfoundland's privacy commissioner to find ways to improve data security in schools.

Meanwhile, RCMP say charges will be laid against two young men arrested for stealing computers from Acreman Elementary. One of the stolen computers had been used as a server for the school.

Pike said the robberies have prompted a change in thinking about security.

"We were so focused for a long time on that whole idea of access to data being something through the internet," he said.

"You weren't counting on the physical break-and-enter and the theft of the server itself."

He said the board is considering upgrading its equipment for better security.