A large part of McMurray University in Abilene, Texas, was the victim of a cyberattack that compromised the personal information of about 18,000 people. The breach first became known on June 20, 2024, when the university noticed “suspicious activity” on its network. The investigation revealed that an unknown attacker gained access to the university’s systems and copied files between June 18 and 20; analysis of the compromised files, completed on November 15, confirmed that the attacker was able to obtain victims’ names and social security numbers.
To mitigate the damage, McMurray University offered credit monitoring services to victims and promised to implement additional security measures and employee training.
Universities are popular targets for cybercriminals because they handle large amounts of personal data. Earlier victims were Carnegie Mellon University and Indiana University, where 250,000 records were breached. The incident at McMurray University demonstrates the need to improve cyber security in educational institutions. Modern security measures and regular employee training can minimize the risk of future attacks.
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