Hackers threaten University of Indianapolis security
>>Print ViewPublication Date: 10/06/2008
sponsored by
Hackers attempt to steal personal information from Purdue's server every day, but are unsuccessful; the University of Indianapolis' campus was not so fortunate.
The Indianapolis based institution announced Tuesday that more than 11,000 archived records of students, faculty and staff were broken into by a hacker or hackers. The records that could have been stolen included Social Security numbers, tuition payment records and pre-paid credit cards used in on-campus purchases.
The vast amount of information housed in college computer systems makes the theft of personal information from universities a growing concern. In the spring of 2007, Social Security numbers, names and birthdates were stolen from Ohio State University in two separate incidents.
Scott Ksander, executive director of information technology networks and security at Purdue, said universities are being targeted more and more by hackers.
"Universities are repositories of a lot of data and that data has increasing value.
"We are a little more open because universities are not only trying to conduct business but also research," Ksander said. "There is a sense that we might be weaker but we try to make it not be true."
University of Indianapolis administrators are still unsure how the stolen information might have been used; they only know that it was compromised. They are offering free credit monitoring to people affected by the breach.
In order to prevent the theft of personal information, the best option is for the campus community to guard their information, said Lt. Fred Davis from the Purdue Police. Something as innocent as a birthday on Facebook can be used to steal a person's identity.
"If someone has a bit of information they can take your name and date of birth, they can manufacture a Social Security number," he said.
"They're stealing identity data and it's a traded value in the criminal world."