The University of Missouri and law enforcement are investigating a recent attack on a database by an unknown computer hacker or hackers that allowed retrieval of names and Social Security numbers of 22,396 individuals associated with the University. Those affected were employees of any campus within the UM System during calendar year 2004 who were also current or former students at the Columbia campus.
The University's Information Technology staff first noted unusual activity on a computer application last Thursday, May 3. On Friday morning, May 4, UM technicians identified a large series of errors caused by faulty queries to the application and an associated database. These errors were first assumed to be caused by a problem with a system used to track computer help desk repair calls using the same database. The attack was confirmed by UM technicians that same day. They disabled the account that was being used by two overseas IP addresses to access the database from China and Australia.
The University is alerting individuals whose information was disclosed that they should request a free initial fraud alert to be placed on their credit files by calling any one of the three national credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian or TransUnion.
The University has also set up a telephone hotline and a Web page to provide more information. The hotline may be called between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The toll-free number is 866-241-5619, and the local number in Columbia is 573-884-7222.
Labels: data breach, Missouri, privacy
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