Msindisi Fengu reports: Nearly all data containing information about thousands of Eastern Cape schools, pupils and teachers were wiped out of a multimillion-rand digital filing system at the start of the year. A report compiled by Sizwe IT Group, the company that installed and commissioned the Simplivity digital system that cost the provincial education department…
Category: Education Sector
NY: North Colonie Central School District notifies retirees of data security breach
North Colonie Central School District in New York is notifying some retirees that their personal information was inadvertently exposed on the internet for a period of approximately six weeks. The breach occurred when a package of information the district made available to vendors to provide quotations on insurance services inadvertently failed to redact the names,…
University of Kansas computer hacker granted probation, ordered to apologize to professors
Sara Shepherd reports: A former University of Kansas student who hacked into the school’s computer system and changed his failing grades to A’s was granted probation for the resulting felony convictions. He also must write letters apologizing to the professors he fraudulently signed in as. As the prosecutor and his defense attorney had requested in…
Mysterious Algonquin College cyber attack could affect thousands
Kelly Egan reports: Even weeks after its discovery, Algonquin College is still not sure how many current and former students and employees are affected by a cyber attack that breached data banks. However, a news release on Friday suggested thousands could be impacted after one of the college’s servers was “compromised” by a hacker. It…
Middletown Schools Hit With Ransomware Attack
Shawn R. Beals reports: The Middletown school district is working to restore access to its computer systems after discovering a ransomware virus Thursday that had locked the staff out. Ransomware is a type of computer virus that encrypts data, rendering it unusable. Typically, the virus demands a ransom payment in order to have access restored….
Notre Dame de Namur University notifying financial aid applicants of data security incident
Notre Dame de Namur University is notifying some financial aid applicants that their information may have been compromised when an employee fell prey to a phishing attack. In its notification letter (reproduced below), Henry Roth, the Chief Financial Officer and VP of Administration, writes that the university learned of the possible compromise on May 18. Investigation…