Breach, Data Security

Marquette University notifies graduate applicants of possible breach

Marquette University is notifying an undisclosed number of people that settings for an internal file server were inadvertently modified, enabling anyone with University login credentials to access personal information – including Social Security numbers – on their graduate school applications.

How many victims? Undisclosed. 

What type of personal information? Names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, genders, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, places of birth, current visa statuses and future visa types for non-U.S. citizens, GRE/GMAT/LSAT/TOEFL scores, and any applicable transcript, payment, financial aid, employment, dismissal and felony conviction information.

What happened? The settings for an internal file server were inadvertently modified, which allowed anyone with Marquette University login credentials to access personal information on graduate school applications.

What was the response? Steps were taken to prevent further access to education records. All impacted individuals are being notified.

Details: Letters were sent to graduate applicants on Oct. 10.

Quote: “It is important to note that at no time was the information available to the public, nor was anyone with Marquette credentials notified that they had access to the site,” according to a statement emailed to SCMagazine.com on Thursday.

Source: Text from the notification letter, as well as a statement, emailed to SCMagazine.com on Thursday by a Marquette University spokesperson.

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