"Last week, hackers cracked a database managed by Princeton University's advancement office containing information about alumni, donors, some faculty, students and parents. Two weeks earlier, hackers stole similar records from the University of Pennsylvania. Those attacks followed others earlier this year at Columbia University-which exposed the data of 870,000 people, including students and applicants-and New York University, which compromised the personal data of some three million people who have applied to the university since 1989."
""If I'm going to break into a bank, I'm breaking into the biggest one I can find," said Doug Thompson, chief education architect and director of solutions engineering for Tanium, a cybersecurity management company. "They're ripe for it because they're so big and have so much money. If a hacker is going to attempt to hack a university, they're going to try to get the most bang for their buck.""
Recent breaches at Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, and New York University exposed millions of personal records, including alumni, donors, students, applicants, faculty, and parents. Wealthy, selective institutions attract attackers because reputations, endowments, and research profiles increase the payoff for successful intrusions. Stolen donor lists enable follow-on scams targeting wealthy individuals and monetize personal identifying information on black markets. Institutional size and perceived wealth make elite universities especially appealing to attackers. Strengthening defenses requires investment in IT staff and security systems and focused education for students and staff about phishing and other threats.
Read at Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs
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