UW Madison Hit with Data Breach

The University of Wisconsin at Madison is now in the process of alerting some 75,000 students, faculty and staff members that a data breach in May could have exposed their personal information.

The breach was not discovered until May 25, and it took investigators another few weeks to learn that a database containing the names and Social Security numbers for the affected consumers was accessed without authorization, according to a report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. However, there is no indication that any of the data was either viewed or stolen.

"Talking to the forensic experts, we don't believe the motive was identity theft," Tom Luljak, UWM's vice chancellor for university relations, told the newspaper. "We are a research institution with a significant number of projects under way. It is theorized that this may have been an attempt to look at work being done."

Consumers who have their personal details exposed in a data breach may want to consider ordering a copy of their credit report to determine whether the information was used to open a fraudulent line of credit in their name.

For the latest on data breach news, check out the blog of security expert and Identity Theft 911 Chief Information Security Officer Ondrej Krehel.