Florida University Notifying Almost 20,000 Students and Faculty after Noticing Unsecured Database File Available Online

Florida International University found in early May that a database file containing personally identifiable information of their students and faculty members was exposed online for public access for an undetermined amount of time.

The file, which contained Social Security numbers, was found to be accessible online to the public through a database’s search function, and was not found to be in a secured environment. The incident was discovered after the IT department was reviewing the website after being notified of a hacking incident, and the database was immediately secured. However, they are unsure of how long the information was accessible online and are in the process of conducting a further investigation and continued practice in securing the campus’s students’ personal data.

A letter has been sent to students and faculty notifying them of the incident, and encourages them to monitor their credit reports for unusual or fraudulent activities. This can be done by finding the best credit monitoring service or an identity theft protection service, which are available to the public at a small cost.