Hacker accesses UConn customer database

The University of Connecticut (UConn) is warning thousands of customers who bought merchandise at HuskyDirect.com that their credit card numbers and other sensitive information may have been stolen.  

How many victims? 18,000.

What type of personal information? Names, addresses, emails, telephone numbers and credit card information, including expiration dates and security codes.

What happened? A hacker gained access to a database containing billing information for HuskyDirect.com.

Details: The website, used by customers to buy team merchandise from the UConn co-op, is operated by an unnamed vendor who notified the university about the breach. The vendor has secured the database, the co-op said, but as of Jan. 20 the website remained inactive.

Customers who shopped at the co-op store in person are not affected.

Quote: "We are investigating how many accounts were actually accessed," the co-op said.

What was the response? Notification letters have been sent to affected individuals who will be offered credit protection.

Source: The Hartford Courant, courant.com, “Hacker Breaks Into UConn Husky Store Website,” Jan. 12, 2011.