cyber security: [may 2008]
Published: 04/25/08
- Hackers Use Southern Connecticut State University's Web Site for Spam Operation
From "After Web Defacement, University Warns of Data Breach" by: Robert McMillan, IDG News Service - Southern Connecticut State University has notified 11,000 current and former students that their personal information may have been compromised by hackers after discovering criminals were using the university's Web site as part of a spam operation. One part of the site contained an unsecured file with the names, addresses, and Social Security numbers of students who had registered to graduate from the school, dating back as far as six years ago. After noticing ads for diamond rings, Viagra and Cialis on the Web site, information technology staff at Southern Connecticut discovered the file containing the sensitive information. "The hackers were using our Web server as a host for their own Web site," says Patrick Dilger, the university's director of public affairs. "When we were doing the security review after the hacker incident, we saw this file there and it wasn't properly secured, so it could have been targeted by someone." The school believes the attack was not based in the United States and is offering two years of identity protection services to all affected students.
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