A hacker managed to infiltrate a critical server at Valdosta State University, gaining access to a reservoir of personal data including students’ grades and Social Security numbers.eSecurity Planet has the details surrounding this latest in an string of attacks on university networks.
Students and faculty members at Valdosta State University in Georgia joined the ranks of thousands of other colleges and university communities victimized by hackers in the past year when the school’s IT department discovered someone broke into a server storing the personal data of more than 170,000 people.
The compromised data included names, Social Security numbers and grades, according to a statement released by Valdosta officials in December.
John Newton, director of the university’s information technology staff, said the breach was first detected on Dec. 11 and a subsequent investigation found that hackers had accessed the data as far back as Nov. 11.
“An initial investigation has found no evidence that any personal data was accessed or transferred,” Newton said. “The breached server was secured and removed from the network. We are continuing the investigation with assistance from University Police and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.”
Valdosta State is now in the process of contacting all affected individuals and has set up a Web site for students and faculty to receive updates on the investigation and any illicit use of the compromised data.
