Hacker may have accessed EWU student information

CHENEY — Eastern Washington University is trying to notify up to 130,000 current or former students whose names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth were on a computer network involved in a security breach.

Administrators at Eastern said Thursday there was no evidence leading them to believe that anyone's personal information has been compromised.

But the university is mailing notification letters to people whose personal data may have been exposed to allow them to take steps to protect themselves from potential fraud, the university said.

The student information goes back to 1987. The notification process could take up to two weeks.

The university recently discovered the breach during an assessment of its network. Information-technology staff also discovered that the hacker installed software to store and share video files on the system.

In the notification letter, the university encourages people to place a fraud alert on their credit file and to seek a free credit report so they can look for suspicious activity. A Web site has been set up to provide information at www.ewu.edu/infosecurity.

Individuals can also call Eastern's security hotline at 1-800-615-9381 during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, beginning at 9 a.m., this Monday.

"EWU regrets that anyone's personal information may have been subject to unauthorized disclosure," said President Rodolfo Arevalo in a statement. "The university is taking this matter seriously and is committed to maintaining everyone's privacy. Eastern is continually putting new measures in place to protect personal information and will do everything it can to protect against further intrusions."