5 WORST Data Security Breaches In Universities & Colleges In 2018-2019

BBC News reported of big personal data theft that Lancaster University students and applicants suffered from. It is said, the personal data has been stolen in a "sophisticated and malicious" phishing attack. Officials claim the stolen data had been used "to send bogus invoices to undergraduate applicants." Student records, phone numbers, and ID documents have also been accessed by the culprits. The Typical Student team recalls the biggest security breaches and instances of data theft that happened over the past years. 

#1 Young California hacker used phishing scheme to change grades

A 16-year-old from Cali managed to hack into his school's computers to change his and his classmates' poor grades. For this, the smart kid launched a phishing scheme to access his teacher’s passwords. Turned out, the young hacker was previously charged with 14 different felonies. He was detained and kept in custody. 

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#2 Yale major data breach concealed for 10 years

People at Yale university are good at keeping long-term secrets. Last year, Yale officials revealed a major data breach that had been concealed for almost a decade! The data intrusion happened between 2008 and 2009. According to the official reports, 119,000 individuals, including “604 current residents of New Hampshire” were affected. Alumni, faculty members and staff also suffered from the data breach.  

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#3 Tennessee student hacked the university computer system

A student named Michael Geddati pleaded guilty of downloading exams and changing grades to preserve his scholarship. The 20-year-old was getting a scholarship of $30,000 per semester at Rhodes College in Memphis. 

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#4 $800,000 theft from Massachusetts community college

News outlets reported that $800,000 was stolen from Massachusetts community college using infected email. John Cox, the Cape Cod Community College President, claimed the letter was sent from another college. After the FBI took the case, about $280,000 had been returned to the institution.

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