The University of Virginia announced Friday that attackers originating from China illegally accessed portions of its information technology systems, but that no personal information appears to have been affected.
Despite an investigation – aided by Mandiant – indicating that banking information and health data and Social Security numbers are secure, the university took down its IT systems on Friday as part of a comprehensive security upgrade that was completed on Sunday.
Now, all users are being required to change their Eservices login passwords, which are used for a variety of purposes such as gaining access to email and calendar services, classroom and library computers, and network printing.
“Federal authorities had alerted the University of a possible cyber attack, and this was confirmed by the University on June 11,” an FAQ published Sunday said, adding, “It was important that the hackers remain unaware of our action to investigate this event and protect against it. If the University had not taken this course of action, the situation could have worsened.”
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