A hacker breached a northwestern Iowa university’s database…exposing nearly a quarter-century’s worth of Social Security numbers and other sensitive information of nearly 100,000 people to potential misuse!
The school, Buena Vista University in Storm Lake said there is no indication that anyone has yet to be victimized.
The incident is being turned over to federal authorities in Minneapolis for criminal investigation, the school said, adding that it is offering free credit monitoring to the roughly 93,000 potential victims.
Along with Social Security numbers, the compromised data include the names and some driver’s license numbers for students (applicants and enrollees), and parents and staff members dating back as far as 1987.
Moore, citing the ongoing investigation, was cautious in explaining why the school was compelled to refer the case to federal authorities outside of Iowa.
“The facts that are particular to the case argued for us to refer it [to Minneapolis],” he said. “I can’t get into it any more than that.”
The school said the breach was first detected last month by computer forensics experts, and letters are being sent to everyone affected. Buena Vista President Fred Moore states that about 5,000 of those letters were sent to Minnesota.
“The security of all personal information provided to us is of utmost importance to the university,” Moore said. “We deeply regret this incident has occurred, and we apologize for any concern this has caused our stakeholders and the community. We take this breach seriously and are taking steps to mitigate any risk of potential harm.”
Buena Vista has also contracted with Experian, a national credit protection agency, to provide individuals with a full range of free credit-monitoring and protection services at no charge.
This incident just amplifies the need for a identity protection service for those who aren’t a victim of this incident. Hackers are compromising thousands of people every day and you have no way of knowing whether your information has been exposed or not. Some background check services offer an identity protection program. For example, USSearch and Intelius, two of the largest background check services in the world both offer an identity protection service with a $19.95 monthly fee.
If you have been a victim of this identity theft, or know someone who has, please leave your comments or feedback. Others need to know the impact this kind of incident can have on someone’s life.
-Dave Jordan
