Since 2005, at least 479,000 Hawaii records have been breached online with the University of Hawaii responsible for more than half of the security lapses, according to a Washington, D.C.-based privacy group.

In a 17-page report, the Liberty Coalition said the University of Hawaii is the biggest offender and “has a pattern of breaches and unfulfilled promises.”

The report said “out of a population of approximately 1.3 million people, Hawaii institutions have breached approximately 479,000 records of sensitive personal information, such as names, social security numbers and dates of birth.”

The largest of the five security breaches occurred in October when 40,101 names, social security numbers, dates of birth and other personnel data were posted on an unsecured UH website by a faculty member for nearly a year. In response, UH officials said they are working to strengthen internal controls.

The report did not find security breaches in Hawaii in 2008.

Although Hawaii has a law that requires consumer notification when sensitive information is accessed by unauthorized person, the privacy group has said that newer laws need to be enacted that would levy stiff fines for anyone who makes unauthorized disclosures.