UTSA officials work to safeguard information from hackers
(March 6, 2003)--Officials at The University of Texas at San Antonio have assembled a team of information technology staff to review systems at the university to ensure that data contained on institutional databases is safe from hackers.
The team was assembled in response to one of the largest cases of potential identity theft ever reported that occurred last week at the University of Texas at Austin.
"We continually monitor our systems to make certain information about students, faculty and staff is protected from breaches of computer security," said Jeffrey W. Noyes, chief information officer and vice president for information technology. "Unfortunately, there are numerous individuals who attempt to undermine the safety of computer systems throughout the country and around the world. These hackers pose a threat to all organizations, and we take their criminal activities very seriously."
At UT Austin, computer hackers obtained the names and social security numbers of nearly 53,000 current and former students, faculty members and staff. Federal and state law enforcement officials are investigating individuals suspected of carrying out the crime.
As of latest reporting, law enforcement officials believe none of the information obtained by hackers was used to create false identities.
"Some UTSA personnel information is contained in the UT Austin integrated database that was compromised by the hackers, and I encourage staff, students and faculty to visit the UT Austin Web site to see if this situation impacts them," Noyes said. "We will continue to monitor the situation at Austin and work overtime to protect information at UTSA."
Officials at UT Austin established a Web site and help center for individuals who have questions about the incident.
Read more about data theft
and identity protection at the UT Austin Web site.
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© The University of Texas at San Antonio, 2003