Human error facilitated job application hack at Virginia Tech

Personnel accidentally allowed intruders access to sensitive data about roughly 145,000 Virginia Tech employment applicants.

A computer server in the human resources department was detected on Aug. 28. The weekend of Sept. 21, the school notified about 17,000 people who had put drivers' license numbers on their forms.

The rest of the applicants only provided academic and employment histories, as well as prior convictions, according to school officials.

"We have protections and protocols in place" to prevent hackers from accessing sensitive information, Tech spokesman Larry Hincker said. "They were not followed. It was human error."

The individuals affected had applied for a position between 2003 and 2013.

Officials are not aware of any resumes, social security numbers, credit card information or dates of birth that were compromised.

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