Almost 18K impacted by Texas university breach

Texas-based McMurry University had data from almost 18,000 individuals compromised as a result of a June data breach, Cybernews reports.

Investigation into the incident over almost five months revealed that attackers who intruded on McMurry’s systems between June 18 and 20 were able to copy files containing names and Social Security numbers, said the university in a breach notification letter to people impacted by the incident. Individuals affected by the breach have already been given complimentary credit monitoring services by the university, which also pledged to strengthen its cybersecurity systems and employee cybersecurity training.

Such a development comes amid mounting cyber threats against academic organizations, with Duke University, Stanford University, Princeton University, and the University of Chicago having their stolen data exposed earlier this year. Both Carnegie Mellon University and Indiana University have also been impacted by separate data breaches that compromised information from thousands of students.