University IT staff have now changed the passwords used for all databases and applications, conducted an audit of other campus-related websites, and “closed the pathways” used in both of the recent breaches.
The university is offering five years of credit protection to those affected in February’s breach. About 30,000 people had registered for the service as of mid-March.
“In the coming days and weeks, we will announce additional security measures,” Wylie said. “The University is investing the financial and personnel resources required to better protect the personal, financial, academic, and research information of all members of the University community.”
The University of Maryland is not the only institution struggling to keep student and employee data from falling into the wrong hands.
In the last year, data leaks and breaches have compromised hundreds of thousands of records at Indiana University, University of North Carolina, the University of Delaware, and the University of Mississippi, among others.
More than 3 million records at higher education institutions were exposed in 2013.
“The complexities and issues underlying the structure of our campus-wide information systems are significant,” Wylie said in another letter earlier this month. “The scope and importance of work is paramount. Since the attack on UMD, several other universities have reported breaches of their own, affirming the case that there is perhaps no more compelling issue today than the sanctity of our financial, academic, personal, and research data.”
Follow Jake New on Twitter at @eCN_Jake.
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