Are you afraid of being hacked? Ever worry when a university has been hacked? I have. When a university is hacked, it feels really personal due to how many people have had their information taken from them. For instance, almost 3.5 million people had their information stolen during the University of Phoenix's data breach.
Here are the types of information that were taken in the breach:
While these are great benefits to those who were affected, I believe that data protection should be initiated prior to a data breach occurring.
In contrast to a shopping website's data breach, education records will continue to be associated with a person for their entire lifetime.
What Happened to the University of Phoenix?
According to the university, the hackers gained access to the database that had the student and applicant information stored. I had no idea that there would be so many people affected until I read the report.Who Was Affected by the Data Breach?
Everyone affected by the data breach included past and current students, and individuals who had applied to the University of Phoenix.Here are the types of information that were taken in the breach:
- Full name
- Social security number
- Date of birth
- Student identification number
What the University is Doing
Affected individuals were notified of the data breach by the University of Phoenix immediately following verification of the breach. The university has also provided affected individuals with complimentary credit monitoring and identity protection services.While these are great benefits to those who were affected, I believe that data protection should be initiated prior to a data breach occurring.
Why this is Important
School records include personal information that cannot be easily changed. For instance, a user can reset their password, but they cannot change their Social Security number.In contrast to a shopping website's data breach, education records will continue to be associated with a person for their entire lifetime.