Hackers query 2.5M accounts at Ariz. community college
Education // Arizona, United States
Maricopa Community College District disclosed on 11/27 a compromise of financial and personal information belonging to students, employees and vendors.
The district learned of the incident in late April. It was federal authorities who first notified district officials about the IT security issues.
Exposed information included Social Security Numbers and bank accounts but not credit-card information.
Outsiders were able to remotely access the district's computer system, and a skilled programmer could have reviewed and downloaded data.
District officials are not sure if any of the data has been exploited yet.
“We've attributed that lack of security to the failures of certain people with IT responsibilities who did not live up to the expectations that we placed on them,'' Chancellor Rufus Glasper said in a statement.
There are 10 colleges in the system: Chandler-Gilbert, Estrella Mountain, GateWay, Glendale, Mesa, Paradise Valley, Phoenix, Rio Salado, Scottsdale and South Mountain.
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