UTSA officials discover unauthorized data access

By David Gabler
UTSA Assistant Vice President for Communications

(Sept. 18, 2006)--Officials at The University of Texas at San Antonio have determined that an unknown person or persons gained unauthorized access to a server containing electronic records at the university.

There is no evidence that any data was copied, altered or lost during the compromise, which was discovered Aug. 16 during a routine risk assessment of servers at the university.

"It is our highest priority to ensure the safety of electronic information contained on computers and servers at UTSA," said UTSA President Ricardo Romo. "The university's IT security team is working with UTSA police, state and federal officials to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident."

The compromised server contains faculty and staff personnel information for individuals who have been employed at UTSA during the last four years. It also includes information pertaining to students who received financial aid during the last four years.

Even though no data was compromised during the incident, letters and e-mails were sent Sept. 15 to those who were directly affected, providing information on protection from identity theft.

For the latest information, visit the UTSA Data Security Web site.