UMD Has Major Security Breach

A University of Maryland database was hacked Tuesday evening, compromising the information of thousands of students, faculty, staff and affiliated personnel who have received a student ID since 1998.

On Feb. 19, University President Wallace Loh apologized via email to all members of the University of Maryland community for the database of 309,079 personal records that were breached by a “sophisticated computer security attack.”

“With the assistance of experts, we are handling this matter with an abundance of caution and diligence,” Loh wrote.

“Appropriate state and federal law enforcement authorities are currently investigating this criminal incident.”

The breached database included the names, social security numbers, birth dates, and University identification numbers but excludes contact, health, academic and financial information.

“I’m afraid that my identity is stolen,” sophomore communications major Meagan Blaier said.

The University is offering one year of free credit monitoring to all affected people and has created a site to answer questions about the incident.

In the meantime, Loh explained, “We are initiating steps to ensure there is no repeat of this breach.”

Courtesy of: http://thestamp.umd.edu/events/event_services/take_a_tour/mckeldin_mall