[ISN] Computer breach reported at UGA

[InfoSec News]

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/0905/29ugabreach.html

By KELLY SIMMONS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/29/05 

ATHENS - A hacker broke into a computer database at the University of
Georgia, gaining access to the Social Security numbers of employees in
the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and people who
are paid from that department.

More than 2,400 numbers, belonging to roughly 1,600 people, may have
been exposed, UGA spokesman Tom Jackson said Wednesday.

The names and numbers were not connected on the documents, Jackson
said, but an experienced hacker could be able to interpret the data
well enough to match them. No credit card information was on the
database.

The break-in apparently came from "an automated source outside the
country," UGA officials said.

The university is attempting to contact individuals whose names were
in the database to warn them of potential identity theft. UGA
officials discovered the break-in last week. The Georgia Bureau of
Investigation and the FBI are looking into the security breach.

This is the second time in two years that computer hackers have broken
into a database at UGA. In January 2004, intruders gained access to a
server that contained the names, Social Security numbers, birth dates
and credit card information of students who had applied to UGA since
2002.

No one has been arrested in connection with that incident, Jackson
said.

In May of this year, Georgia Southern and Valdosta State universities
each reported that hackers had gained access to personal information
on their computer databases.