Martin University today announced that it, like many other colleges and universities across the nation, experienced a recent ransomware attack. The university learned of the suspicious activity on January 3, 2022. It immediately hired security experts and a computer forensic investigator to analyze the system, ensure its safety, and determine whether the incident impacted anyone’s personal information.
At no time were courses and instruction disrupted and students were able to continue attending classes virtually. Although the incident prevented access to student services, financial systems, along with some financial aid transactions, Martin’s cyber security consultants and Information Technology team worked diligently to regain access to the impacted systems.
“Our investigation revealed that this network incident may have impacted the personal information of some current, former, and prospective students,” said Dr. Sean Huddleston, President. “The university learned that the attackers may have gained access to some of its student’s personal information, although there has been no evidence to suggest that any student information was viewed or misused by the attackers.”
The university has attempted to contact those affected; tell them about the incident; offer them credit monitoring and identify remediation services; and provide them with information, resources, and steps they can take to protect their personal data.
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“We take the privacy and security of all individuals’ personal information very seriously,” said Huddleston, “When we became aware of suspicious activity on our computer network, we immediately took steps to investigate the activity and began a process to enhance the security of our system. Our efforts allowed us to rebound faster than expected, although the recovery process is still ongoing. Our internal team and outside cybersecurity experts have been hard at work and will continue until all recovery efforts have been completed.”
On May 26th, 2022, notification letters were sent to the potentially affected individuals Martin has been able to identify. Current or former students of Martin or prospective students between January 2017 and January 2022 who have not been notified about this incident should call 1-800-939-4170 Monday through Friday from 8am – 8pm Central Time for further information or to enroll in a complimentary identity protection service through IDX to those individuals whose protected information was potentially affected in connection with this incident.
Due to the impact of the incident on the Martin computer environment, some potentially impacted individuals have not been identified, and as a result Martin has not been able to send letters to those potentially impacted individuals. If you are a current or former student of Martin, or if you were a prospective student of Martin between January of 2017 and January of 2022 and you did not receive a notification letter about this incident, please call 1-800-939-4170 for further information or to enroll in complimentary identity monitoring services.
“Our students are a top priority at Martin, and we are committed to safeguarding their information. We value transparency with students and stakeholders amid this untimely incident,” said Huddleston.
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