OOT: Hacker Breaks Into Database for Tracking International Students

Chronicle of Higher Education Online

Monday, March 21, 2005


Hacker Breaks Into Database for Tracking International Students at UNLV
By SARA LIPKA

A hacker broke into the computer containing records for the federal Student and 
Exchange Visitor 
Information System at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas and gained access 
to personal 
information on about 5,000 current and former international students and 
scholars, university 
officials said on Friday.

A routine security check discovered the break-in while it was in progress, the 
officials said. They 
declined to say exactly when the incident occurred.

After discovering the break-in, the university immediately took the affected 
database offline and 
notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is looking into the case. 
Meanwhile, UNLV 
officials have informed the international students and scholars of the incident 
so that, with the 
university's help, they can take steps to protect themselves from identity 
theft, said Hilarie S. 
Grey, a university spokeswoman.

Information such as birth dates, countries of origin, passport numbers, and 
Social Security numbers 
is stored on the database for the federal system, known as Sevis, which, under 
the USA Patriot Act, 
all universities are required to use to track their foreign students and 
scholars.

According to Ms. Grey, the information has been transferred to another server, 
and the "system is 
back up and running." The break-in "shouldn't disrupt our obligations to report 
to Sevis" or 
interfere with responsibilities to the foreign students and scholars, she said.

In addition to the FBI investigation, about which UNLV could not comment, the 
university has begun 
an internal examination of its network-security protocols. Ms. Grey said that 
while the break-in was 
regrettable, "we were very happy that we were able to catch this in progress."

"Hopefully the activity was minimized by that," she said.

The University of Kansas faced a similar situation two years ago, when a hacker 
gained access to its 
Sevis data (The Chronicle, January 24, 2003).

While a university's goal is "to provide access to information while having the 
maximum protection 
against these kinds of situations," said Ms. Grey, "it's a challenge for the 
whole industry to stay 
ahead of these very sophisticated cybercriminals."

Dari milis tetangga...
__________________________________________
rahadian p. paramita at http://prajnas.blogspot.com

 ...you, like everyone else, was born into bondage... 
 ...kept inside a prison that you cannot smell, taste, or touch. 
 A prison for your mind... 

MORPHEUS from THE MATRIX


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