Data Breach At College Of The Desert Made Public

PALM DESERT, CA — Approximately 800 people whose personal data may have been accessed during a cyberattack at College of the Desert will be receiving a formal notification letter with information on additional steps they can take to protect themselves, according to an announcement Wednesday from COD.

Last summer's malware attack impacted the campus's online network for about two weeks. When the unauthorized access was discovered, the college immediately began working with local authorities, the FBI and third-party forensic specialists to investigate and limit the extent of the breach, according to the announcement.

"While there is no evidence of attempted or actual misuse of their information, the College is proactively notifying anyone whose information was compromised and providing them with free credit monitoring services," Wednesday's announcement read.

A lag in announcing the breach was due to the lengthy investigation, a campus official said.

"The investigatory process with the forensic specialists was very thorough and exhaustive," said Kristeen Farlow, COD interim public information officer. "They were combing through data from College of the Desert to determine what data — and how much — was accessed. This process took a long time to complete."

“College of the Desert takes very seriously the privacy of information in our care,” Superintendent/President Martha Garcia, Ed.D. said in a released statement. “If you receive a letter stating you were impacted and have questions, please reach out using the contact information in the letter. We also encourage you to take advantage of the free credit monitoring service that is available.”

A hotline has been set up to answer questions for those who may be impacted, the college announced. That number is 800-405-6108.