Data Breached
The personal information of 30,000 current and former students may have been exposed as a result of a data breach at a Colorado university.
Problem Cause
The problem was caused by a cyber-attack on third-party provider Atlassian, according to the University of Colorado Boulder.
Atlassian is a document and resource sharing software package utilized by the institution’s Office of Information Technology.
Personally Identifiable Information Exposed
Some files in the application were accessed illegally as a result of the assault, possibly exposing personally identifiable information for present and former students such as names, student ID numbers, residences, dates of birth, phone numbers, and genders.
Actionable Item:
The organization claimed in a statement that it was “preparing to implement” a new version of the program when attackers gained access by exploiting a known vulnerability. The institution stated that people who are believed to be affected will be notified through email. “The majority of the individuals harmed are no longer involved with CU as a student or employee,” the statement continued. Anyone whose credit has been harmed will be offered free credit monitoring.
Reflect:
Regardless of business size, an organization can become a cyber-crime victim especially when the vulnerabilities of the company’s IT infrastructure and network set-up are not identified.
Recommendation:
Inquire for a cybersecurity assessment, this will cost you from little to zero expenditures. There are IT managed services providers that offer free cybersecurity assessment. IT21ST for example, we have been assisting our clients in Los Angeles Area with their IT challenges for over 33 years. Our consultation is 100% free with no obligations. Let us run a FREE IT Cyber Security Assessment for you!
