400K Michigan State U. Records with Social Security Numbers Hacked: Who's Affected

EAST LANSING, MI — Michigan State University said Friday that a database with 400,000 records containing names and social security numbers and other information for current and former students and employees when a server was hacked.

The vulnerable information in the Nov. 13 breach also included MSU identification numbers for current and former students and employees, but it did not contain passwords or financial, academic, contact or health information, according to a news release.

Of those records, 449 were confirmed to be accessed by the hacker, and the affected database was taken offline within 24 hours of the unauthorized access, the university said.

The university deployed its information technology team to determine the cause and nature of the breach, and the the campus police department is working with its federal law enforcement partners to investigate the crime, the university said.

The university said that although there is no evidence the hacker retrieved any records beyond the 449 identified, free credit monitoring is available to all 400,000 individuals who were potentially affected: faculty, staff and students who were employed by MSU between 1970 and Nov. 13, 2016, or were students between 1991 and 2016.

MSU police encourage all current and former students and employees to closely monitor their financial records for potential incidents of fraud and identify theft and to report any unauthorized or suspicious activity to police immediately and reference MSU Police incident report 1658103881.

In addition, MSU is continuing to work with national experts to improve overall campus security. IT officials also are accelerating implementation of MSU’s existing plan for increased security.

For questions about the data breach, go here or call toll free at (855) 231-9331.

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