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Education

350,000 SSNs exposed in UNC-Charlotte breach

Marcos Colon May 11, 2012

The Social Security numbers and financial account information of students and staff at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte were exposed during an online security breach.

Seal of approval: Security certifications

Dan Kaplan May 01, 2012

Certifications have long validated security skills, says W. Hord Tipton of (ISC)2. But as the profession evolves and more educational opportunities pop up, how valuable do they remain?

Connecticut community college hit with "zero-day" malware

Roo Howar April 13, 2012

Eighty-seven thousand people affiliated with Housatonic Community College may be open to identity theft after the institution became the second Connecticut school to experience a malware outbreak this year.

Michigan union employees' data exposed

Greg Masters March 22, 2012

The personal information of more than 1,000 public employees of Wayne County, Mich., was exposed when a spreadsheet containing their data was inadvertently attached to an email blast.

University of Tampa sustains breach of Social Security numbers

Dan Kaplan March 21, 2012

The college blames a "server management error" for the public posting of confidential information of tens of thousands of students, faculty and staff.

Malware Incorporated: Turning your data into their dreams

Stephen Cobb, security evangelist at ESET March 08, 2012

Who is behind the production, distribution and exploitation of malicious software today? Knowing the answer is a vital tool in the fight against cyber crime.

Case study: An educated decision

Greg Masters March 01, 2012

Web applications remain a primary vector for attack, and the higher education space remains fertile ground for successful breaches. That's why West Virginia University wanted to take a proactive approach.

Connecticut college computer infected with malware, 18K affected

Dan Kaplan February 17, 2012

The insidious Zbot trojan is believed responsible for compromising the Social Security numbers of more than 18,275 workers at Central Connecticut State University.

Towards a safer internet

David Harley, ESET senior research fellow • February 07, 2012

Child safety is a hot topic right now, but then it's always important.

Patient data at U of M hospital breached

Greg Masters February 06, 2012

A thief broke into a doctor's car and stole a briefcase containing a flash drive that held personal data on patients of University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

An educated decision: Network smarts at WVU

Greg Masters February 03, 2012

West Virginia University was looking to protect student and staff data. It found a software solution to assist in the process, reports Greg Masters.

Indiana University hospital hacked to steal data

Dan Kaplan February 01, 2012

Malware may have allowed attackers to make off with the personal information of thousands of people connected to Indiana University Health Goshen Hospital.

Univ. of Hawaii settles with 98,000 over five breaches

Dan Kaplan January 27, 2012

The largest class-action settlement in Hawaii's history is related to data breaches at University of Hawaii campuses.

Hackers harvested City College of S.F. data since 1999

Greg Masters January 13, 2012

Fingers are being pointed at criminal networks based in Russia and China as the culprits behind the more-than-decade-long siphoning of personal banking information from students, faculty and staff of the City College of San Francisco.

Hard target: The APT scenario

Stephen Lawton January 03, 2012

Stealthy, targeted attacks are real -- as evidenced by operations such as Shady RAT and Stuxnet -- and there isn't a one-size-fits-all remedy to deal with them.

The new wave: Modern security education

Dan Kaplan January 03, 2012

Sometimes a little bit of competition is what it takes to get students on the path to careers in security. Software engineer Alex Levinson, who won the U.S. Cyber Challenge, was one of those people.

Hackers steal credit card numbers from cash registers at UC Riverside

Dan Kaplan November 29, 2011

Hackers compromised cash registers at campus dining locations at the University of California, Riverside to hijack credit and debit card numbers.

VCU server hacked to compromise personal data of 175K

Angela Moscaritolo November 14, 2011

Hackers accessed a sensitive computer server containing the personal information of faculty and students at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond.

Video: Educating students on reducing online risk

Dan Kaplan October 24, 2011

Andrew Lee, CEO of ESET North America, sits down with SC Magazine Executive Editor Dan Kaplan to discuss why security education needs to make its way into school curricula. This will allow students to become better protectors of their personal critical infrastructure -- their homes -- and prepare them to be security conscious employees once they enter the working world.

Sensitive University of Georgia employee data posted online

Angela Moscaritolo October 10, 2011

The personal information of thousands of individuals who worked at the University of Georgia in 2002 was accessible online for several years.

Podcast: Science fiction and security

Dan Kaplan September 29, 2011

The University of Washington is thinking outside of the box when it comes to educating computer science students about information security. In this edition of the SC Magazine podcast, associate professor Yoshi Kohno explains how instructors are using "science fiction" to force students to think critically about the discipline. Considering how quickly technology evolves, how often threats change and how wide a scope the security field encompasses, pupils must use out-of-the-box thinking if they are to succeed upon graduation.

"Sophistication" and the downfall of security

Dan Kaplan September 28, 2011

Hiding the facts behind a cyberattack only stands to benefit the criminal.

Harvard site back online after "sophisticated" defacement

Dan Kaplan September 27, 2011

The home page of Harvard University was hacked by pro-Syria supporters in a "sophisticated" attack, but at least one security expert is skeptical of just how advanced the compromise could have been.

Zero-day holes found in Blackboard platform

Darren Pauli, editor, SC Magazine, Australia/New Zealand edition September 16, 2011

Vulnerabilities in the Blackboard Learn platform have the potential to affect millions of school and university students and thousands of institutions around the world.

Hacker "soldier" steals $3.2 million from U.S. companies

Angela Moscaritolo September 15, 2011

Researchers at Trend Micro say they have been hot on the tracks of a corporate hacker, and now they are turning over their findings to U.S. law enforcement.

Would the United States win a cyberwar?

Cameron Camp, researcher for ESET • September 07, 2011

Cyberthreats are increasing, but can be mitigated with a concerted effort at educating as many people as possible.

Podcast Episode No. 4: Teaching malware in college

Dan Kaplan September 07, 2011

A number of universities have launched curricula in computer science, but noticeably absent are courses, even electives, that specifically address malware. In this edition of the SC Magazine podcast, George Ledin, a computer science professor at Sonoma State University in California, explains why not teaching malware at the college level can have a huge, negative impact on data security. Ledin - who just penned an essay on the topic - also takes on his critics, who argue that educators either lack the resources or time to educate students on malware, or that teaching about malicious code is taboo.

Google search could have revealed Yale personal data

Dan Kaplan August 23, 2011

A Google search could have yielded the personal information of tens of thousands of people connected to Yale University.

Hackers break into sensitive Purdue University server

Angela Moscaritolo August 19, 2011

A computer server containing the personal information of thousands of former Purdue University students was accessed by hackers.

College server infected, possibly to steal research data

Angela Moscaritolo August 12, 2011

The personal information of tens of thousands of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) students and employees is at risk after a server was discovered to be infected with malware.