BREAKING: College to notify ransomware victims; offers credit monitoring to college community

By Kendall Polidori, Co-Editor-in-Chief

Shane Tolentino

Nearly seven weeks after Columbia became the victim of a ransomware attack, the college provided details about how it would assist members of the college community whose data may have been compromised.

A Friday, July 17 collegewide email from Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Jerry Tarrer and Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer Kathie Koch stated that individuals whose personal data was accessed during the attack will soon receive notice of the incident through first-class mail.

On May 30 the college was named as the victim of a ransomware attack by NetWalker, a group of data hackers, as reported by the Chronicle June 2.

Last week the Chronicle provided an update on the attack, with information from the college on the state or severity of the attack still unclear.

In the July 17 email, the college said there is no indication any member of the community’s information has been “misused,” but it has arranged for people to enroll for free in an online credit monitoring service, myTrueIdentity. The service will be provided for two years.

“We take the security of all information in our control seriously and we sincerely regret any concern or inconvenience that this matter may cause you,” the email said. “Please know that we remain dedicated to improving the security and protection of your data and that this continues to be a top priority.”