A cyber attack on the computer network at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) has exposed the names and Social Security numbers of 75,000 students, teachers and staff.
UWM officials who are investigating the security breach don’t believe that personal data was the motive behind the attack.
“Talking to the forensic experts, we don’t believe the motive was identity theft,” said Tom Luljak, UWM’s vice chancellor for university relations. “We are a research institution with a significant number of projects under way. It is theorized that this may have been an attempt to look at work being done.”
The IT staff at UWM first discovered on May 25 that back-door malware, which can scan and view documents on a server, was installed and it was later on June 30 that the database containing social security numbers was compromised.
“It’s no longer just going out and hoping to get lucky somewhere,” said Josh Goldman, Interim Manager of User Support at UW-Green Bay. “They’re intentionally seeking out certain institutions.”
At this time, officials don’t believe that any data was viewed or stolen, but nonetheless, the school is sending letters out to those potentially affected. You can view more information about the cyber attack and what you can do about computer security on their website.