PHOENIX - The computer system being run by the state Department of Education allows "sensitive information'' to be exposed "due to security weaknesses,'' the state Auditor General's Office has concluded.

The report, being released today, noted that the agency makes many of its applications accessible via the Internet so that schools can report information and access data. Auditor General Debbie Davenport said her staffers found that private information, like teacher names, birth dates and social security numbers "could be viewed by individuals who have no right or need to access it.''

Davenport said there was no evidence that the agency's computer system actually has been compromised. But she said the weaknesses make it possible - and that "hackers'' entering the system through the Internet could obtain technical information that would help them plan additional attacks.

Janice McGoldrick, the agency's chief information officer, said virtually all of the problems the auditor has found already have been addressed. And McGoldrick, who took control of computer services at the agency less than two years ago, said fixes were being made even before auditors showed up.

For example, she said the Department of Education had an "intrusion detection'' system that would notify agency employees any time someone tried to break into the system. But what was needed, she said was "intrusion prevention'' software to keep people from getting at the data in the first place.

But McGoldrick acknowledged that some things remain to be done.

For example, she said the agency needs to have someone whose main job is to manage computer security. And she said that the patches already made need to be constantly checked.

"We have the continuous challenge to try to stay one step ahead of the hackers,'' McGoldrick said.