Georgia Tech Data Breach Leaks Information from 1.3 Million Students, Faculty

Britain's cyber-spooks are reaching beyond the shroud of secrecy in a bid to harness the "exciting
AFP

The Georgia Institute of Technology announced this week that a data breach compromised personal information from 1.3 million students, faculty, and applicants, including social security numbers.

According to a local news report, a massive data breach at Georgia Tech may have leaked personal data from 1.3 million members of the community. The leak compromised personal data from former and current students and faculty members in addition to applicants to the school.

Mark Hoeting, the Vice President for Information Technology at Georgia Tech, told the community that the leak took place at the end of March. According to Hoeting, the hacker(s) gained access to personal information including home addresses and social security numbers.

Recently, Georgia Tech discovered that unauthorized access to a web application has exposed personal information for up to 1.3 million individuals, including current and former faculty, students, staff, and student applicants. The Institute’s cybersecurity team is working to determine the extent of the access and to identify the affected individuals.

The information illegally accessed by an unknown outside entity was located on a central database. Georgia Tech’s cybersecurity team is conducting a thorough forensic investigation to determine precisely what information was extracted from the system, which may include names, addresses, social security numbers, and birth dates.

Georgia Tech learned of the illegal access in late March and immediately took action to address the vulnerability. The Institute is committed to the privacy and security of its personal data and deeply regrets the potential impact on those affected.

The leak is surprising, in part, due to Georgia Tech’s strong reputation for computer science. U.S. News and World Report ranked Georgia Tech’s undergraduate computer engineering programming fifth in the nation in 2018.

Stay tuned to Breitbart News for more updates on this story.

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