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About 17,000 Northwestern University applicants will be receiving notifications through emails and letters that their information may have been accessed by hackers.
Officials realized in May that hackers had access to names, addresses and Social Security numbers stored on nine desktop computers, and they have spent the last two months investigating the incident. The security breach happened after troubleshooting software, which allows technical support staff to access computers remotely, was installed on the computers.
What to do?
Anyone affected by this incident can call 888-209-0097 or e-mail: university_enrollment[at]northwestern.edu.
Update: Additional information about the breach can be found on Northwestern’s site.
Source: Chicago Tribune
Written by MCruz on July 15th, 2006 with no comments.
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About 36,000 University of Tennessee (UT) employees are being notified that their personal information was exposed to a hacker during a nine-month period (August 2005 thru May 2006).
Although we have no indication the hacker accessed or used the personal information, we are taking the precaution of notifying everyone whose information was on the database and urging them to take steps to protect themselves,” said Brice Bible, assistant vice president for information technology.
What to do:
Those affected can call the UT hotline at (866) 748-1680 or visit their website: http://security.tennessee.edu.
Source: Chattanooga Times
Written by MCruz on July 7th, 2006 with no comments.
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Western Illinois University Alumni records were accessed by hackers last month. Over 180,000 records were exposed. School officials emphasized Social Security numbers and some credit card information have not been used maliciously.
A computer hacker accessed computer systems containing confidential personal data of Western Illinois University alumni a full month ago, but some of the more than 180,000 people affected only learned of the problem this week.
Anyone affected by this breach can find more information on the school’s website or by calling (877) 556-4100.
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
Written by MCruz on July 5th, 2006 with no comments.
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Current and former employees of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are at risk for identity theft. A hacker had gained unauthorized access into the system early June.
The personal identity information potentially accessed includes individual’s names, social security numbers, and photos. Worksite information that is readily available to the public is also contained within the database. Approximately 26,000 current and former Washington, D.C. area USDA employees and contractors are potentially affected.
More information about what to do if you are affected can be found on this site.
Source: USDA Press Release
Written by MCruz on June 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
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Contractors who worked for the National Nuclear Security Adminstration (NNSA) were contacted by phone today that their Social Security numbers and other personal information was stolen by a computer hacker last September.
Energy Department officials on Monday began contacting 1,502 individuals by phone to inform them that their Social Security numbers and other information may have been compromised when a hacker gained entry to a department computer system eight months ago.
Source: FoxNews Thanks Viv, for the heads up on this story!
Written by MCruz on June 12th, 2006 with no comments.
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Two months ago, Florida International University discovered that a database containing student and applicant names and social security numbers was breached by hackers. Last week, they notified the thousands of people affected via postcard sized letters. Students are concerned both by the delay of notification as well as the method, which can easily be mistaken as junk mail due to its size.
If you have received a warning letter, “university officials recommend you check your credit report with the three main credit reporting agencies to make sure you have not become the victim of identity theft.”
Source: CBS4 News - South Florida
Written by MCruz on May 31st, 2006 with no comments.
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