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Hackers breach college admission database and demand ransom

Hackers breach college admission database and demand ransom
  • Hackers breached the ‘college admission database’ of three U.S colleges and have gained access to students’ personal information.
  • The hackers demanded 1 bitcoin or approximately $3,800 as ransom from the students for the personal information they claimed to have stolen.

What is the issue - Hackers breached the ‘college admission database’ of three U.S colleges and gained access to students’ personal information.

Who were the targets - The three colleges that were targeted include Oberlin College in Ohio, Grinnell College in Iowa, and Hamilton College in New York.

The big picture

All three colleges use Technosolutions’ Slate platform to manage the admission process and to store the personal information of students who apply for the admission.

Hackers phished passwords from staff, gained unauthorized access to the colleges’ networks, and took control of the databases that contained information of students who applied for the admission to the colleges.

Why it matters - The hackers demanded 1 bitcoin or approximately $3,800 as ransom from the students for the personal information they claimed to have stolen.

Alexander Clark, CEO of Technosolutions, told the Wall Street Journal that his company had contacted the three colleges and requested them to “review the security practices of their single sign-on and password reset systems.”

Cyware Publisher

Publisher

Cyware