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The Hartford Courant
7:23 p.m. EST, February 16, 2012
A security breach in a computer at Central Connecticut State University has exposed Social Security numbers of students and of current and former employees to potential risk and misuse.
A computer in the business office became infected by a “Z-Bot” virus, which exposed 18,275 Social Security numbers, said James Estrada, the university’s chief information officer.
The university said it was matching numbers with names and addresses Thursday, and will contact each person who was exposed.
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“After conducting a forensic analysis, we have been unable to determine if any data was stolen or used in an unauthorized manner — only that the data was vulnerable for eight days in early December,” Estrada said.
“As soon as the virus was detected, we acted immediately to protect the data by taking the impacted computer off line.”
The university sent out notifications to the campus community Thursday afternoon. It is offering free identity protection services for up to two years for those whose Social Security numbers were exposed. The services will be provided by an independent company, Debix, which specializes in protecting and restoring personal credit and identity.
“I deeply regret any inconvenience or anxiety this incident may cause you and your family,” President Jack Miller said in a campus-wide email.
“All of us involved in responding to this incident understand how important one’s personal information is and how critical it is to safeguard it. I want to assure you that, in coordination with the Board of Regents System Office and our own Information Technology office, we are working to prevent any such future incidents.”
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Article source: http://www.courant.com/community/new-britain/hc-ccsu-breach-0217-20120216,0,6145342.story?track=rss
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