Boston College, Calif. State University computers hacked

Linda Rosencrance and Jaikumar Vijayan   Today’s Top Stories   or  Other Security Stories  

Why SaaS is Vital to Email and Web Security Bringing Order and Security to your Mobile Workforce: Corporate Mobility Policy and Device Management Achiving Compliance Through Good Governance Magic Quadrant for Application Delivery Controllers Should You Install Messaging Security Software on Your Exchange Server? Ninja: Total Email Security Learn-Fast Guide: Software as a Service is Growing Up SaaS Solutions for Remote Systems Management Learn-Fast Guide: Software as a Service is Growing Up Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts

March 17, 2005 (Computerworld) -- A computer used for fund-raising activities at Boston College was hacked into last week, initially raising concerns that personal information, including Social Security numbers, of some 120,000 alumni might have been compromised.
Although BC alerted the affected alumni to the breach, the college is now sure that no personal data was stolen, said BC spokesman Jack Dunn.
The break-in at BC is the second such incident to be reported this week by a university. On Monday, officials at California State University in Chico disclosed that hackers had broken into a housing and food service system containing personal information -- including the names and Social Security numbers -- of about 59,000 current, former and prospective students, faculty and staff.
A statement on the school's Web site said the intruders apparently installed rootkit software on the system for storing music, movie and game files. They also attempted to break into other university computers, the school said.
At BC, Dunn said the hacker planted a program that would launch attacks against other computers.
"Last week, our IT department discovered a security breach on a computer that was managed by a third-party vendor and located in our student calling center," Dunn said. "During a routine monitoring of the computers, IT noticed a spike in activity on this particular computer, and when they discovered the breach, they immediately took the computer off-line, secured the breach and launched an extensive computer forensics investigation."
Dunn said the investigation concluded that the computer wasn't targeted to access personal information but to allow the hacker to launch remote attacks.
"IT has done a thorough investigation, and they have determined the personal information, including Social Security numbers, was not accessed," Dunn said. "But given the seriousness of the issue, we decided to send out the precautionary advisories to all of our alumni on the computer, and we offered guidelines they should consider to insure their privacy."
BC is now purging all Social Security numbers from this computer and will no longer use Social Security numbers as alumni identifiers, Dunn said. He said the school will institute a new identification system.
Dunn said BC has contacted local law enforcement but has not yet contacted state or federal authorities.
In California, officials at California State University are now notifying each person whose name and Social Security number was on the system in accordance with state law. There is no indication that the hackers were targeting confidential information, school officials said.
The compromised system has been "rebuilt and secured," and has been put back onto the university's network. The system is now being reviewed by an outside security firm.
News of the breachcomes just as the university has put in place plans to use a new randomly assigned nine-digit ID number for students and employees instead of Social Security numbers.

Print this Story

Send Us Feedback

E-mail this Story

Digg this Story

Slashdot this Story

"Yes, NASA has confirmed that some laptops taken to the International Space Station were infected with an online-gaming password stealing..." Read more... "Linux is more secure than most operating systems, but Not if you don't practice basic security measures..." Read more... Read more Security posts or See all Blogs

Cellular operators say they're ready for Gustav Psystar calls Apple a 'monopoly' in antitrust charges Doubt cast on Seinfeld as Windows TV ads near More top stories...

IT workers hit hardest by offshore outsourcing, survey finds Microsoft: No more Windows Live Mail crashes with IE8 Beta 2 Microsoft warns of IE8 lock-in with XP SP3

Telecommuting: 6 questions to ask before you say yes Telework can change office dynamics in ways you hadn't anticipated. Proceed cautiously. Wi-Fi tweaks for speed freaks Got a painfully slow connection or random dead spots? Our tips will help you get the most out of your wireless network. 5 ways to drive your best workers out the door Listen up, managers: Employees don't quit the job; they quit you. Ultraportable laptops: Their rise and possible fall Netbooks, ultraportables, mini-notebooks — whatever you call them, they've been grabbing headlines. Are they here for the long term or just a flash in the pan? Windows Vista A to Z Reviews, analyses, how-tos, visual tours, hot issues and predictions about Microsoft's new OS. More Continuing Coverage After 9/11: Homeland Security Apple's iPhone Ask a Premier 100 IT Leader Bill Gates steps down BlackBerry Legal Battle Data Security Breaches Electronic Voting Firefox H-1B Visas HP's Boardroom Scandal Handheld Devices Hurricane Katrina Aftermath Microsoft Legal Issues Microsoft's Vista Open Source RFID Technology SCO's Linux Fight Sarbanes-Oxley Act Spam Voice Over IP Wi-Fi Windows Meta File Vulnerability Windows XP Service Pack 3 IT Careers 2010 Four years from now, the IT field will be a vastly different place. Will you be ready? More Special Reports Premier 100 IT Leaders 2007 Best in Class 2006 Computerworld Horizon Awards 2006 Premier 100 IT Leaders 2006 Salary Survey 2007 Best Places to Work in IT 2007 IT Forecast 2007 Premier 100 IT Leaders 40 Years of Computerworld ASPs, Take Two Best Places to Work in IT 2003 Best Places to Work in IT 2004 Best Places to Work in IT 2005 Best Places to Work in IT 2006 Business Intelligence Home Runs Business Intelligence: Smarter BI Business Intelligence: The Future of BI CRM Goes Vertical CRM: Sober CRM Career Planning Guide 2005 Careers: IT Profession 2010 Computerworld Horizon Awards 2005 Data Management: Mining for Gems Data Management: Taming Data Chaos Development: Hard-Workin' Web Sites Development: New Tools New Choices Development: The New World of Application Development Development: The Web Services Tsunami Development: Web Services Hurdles Disaster Recovery: Preparing for the Worst E-commerce Grows Up E-mail/Groupware: Big Decisions Faces of Mobile IT Forecast 2006 Global Mobile Hardware: Multiple Cores, Multiple Challenges Hardware: On-Demand Un-Hyped Hardware: The Shape of Things to Come Horizon Awards: 10 Cool Cutting Edge Technologies IT Management: Guide to Managing Vendors IT Management: Navigating Global IT IT Management: Recovery Ahead IT Management: The Future of IT IT Management: The Resourceful Project Manager Innovative Technology Awards 2004 Management: Reinventing IT Microsoft in Transition Mobile/Wireless Leaders and Laggards Mobile/Wireless: The Untethered Worker Mobile/Wireless: Tiny Gadgets, Huge Costs Network Management: Taking Control Networking: Turbulence Ahead! Networking: VoIP Goes Mainstream Operating Systems: In the Slow Lane Operating Systems: Linux Goes Global Operating Systems: Should You Nix Unix? Outsourcing: Offshore Buyer's Guide Outsourcing: Outsourcing Dangers Premier 100 IT Leaders 2004 Best in Class Premier 100 IT Leaders 2005 Best in Class ROI: Do the Math! Salary Survey 2003 Salary Survey 2004 Salary Survey 2005 Security Action Plan Security: Compliance Headaches Security: Proactive Security Security: Risk and Reward Security: Tips From Security Pros Souped-up Security Storage: Battling Complexity Storage: Cheap & Secure Data Stores Storage: Stretching Your Storage Dollars Storage: The Lean Storage Machine Storage: The New Rules of Storage Storage: The Ultimate Backup Guide Supply Chain: Missing Links Supply Chain: RFID Reality Check The Business of Security Web 2.0 Security Wireless: Wireless At Work All Zones Application Performance Zone Business Continuity Zone The File Data Management Zone Security Management Zone ITIL Best Practices Zone The SAS Zone Business Intelligence and Analytics Zone Windows Protection Zone Identity & Security Management Zone See your link here

From Laggard to Leader: Transforming the Data Center From Laggard to Leader: Transforming the Data Center Register for this complimentary live webcast today! Go to the webcast  Computerworld Executive Bulletin: Building a Robust Antivirus Defense Download this Executive Bulletin (a $49.95 value) for free, compliments of MessageLabs. (Source: MessageLabs) Antivirus software alone isn't enough to prevent today's speedy, sophisticated virus attacks. Security managers should consider multitiered approaches that include behavior scanning, appliances that check e-mail for worms, and restricting user access to dangerous Web sites. Download this Executive Bulletin (a $49.95 value) for free, compliments of MessageLabs, to learn more. Download this executive briefing  Online Security Issues in Regulated Industries Download this research paper, free for a limited time, compliments of Webroot! (Source: Webroot Software) In June 2008, Computerworld invited IT and business leaders to participate in a survey on online security initiatives at their organizations. The goal of the survey was to better understand Web and e-mail security issues faced today within the regulated education, financial services, government and health care industries. The following report represents top-line results of that survey. Download this white paper  White Papers Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services. Archiving Compliance with Sunbelt Exchange Archiver The Impact of Messaging and Web Threats Advanced Load Balancing: 8 Things You Need to Handle Today's Network Traffic View more whitepapers

• Cellular operators say they're ready for Gustav
• IT workers hit hardest by offshore outsourcing, survey finds
• Psystar calls Apple a 'monopoly' in antitrust charges
• More top stories 

Security Management Zone Security management is the process of developing a comprehensive data protection plan. It takes into account all potential threats, the existing network environment, the future needs of the organization, and lays out a multi-tiered blueprint to integrate the security technology needed to combat these threats. CDW can help keep your network and data secure. Visit the CDW Security Management Zone now See All Zones

Fired up about IT? Join Sharkbait and share your true tales of IT. SharkBait is the place for you to sound off about everything IT – the good, the bad, and the rest of the weird stuff you deal with every day. New baits

Identity & Security Management Solve your compliance problems and mitigate risk. Automate, validate and enforce business governance with Novell Identity Management and Security solutions. Learn more in the Identity & Security Management Zone See All Zones

In Security Stripping away the trappings of applications, systems and networks, information is the core asset of most organizations. Our columnist describes how asserting the importance of information governance is crucial to making that asset tangible, addressable and protected. Click here to read the latest column by Jon Espenschied