St Thomas Brushed Off Red Flags Before DarkWeb Data Dump Rocks

pHundreds of thousands of University of St Thomas files have appeared on the dark web after a summer cyberattack that shut down campus systems and key services Students faculty and alumni say theyve received little information as experts and law enforcement work to find out what data was stolen as reported by Houston ChronicleppAccording to the Houston Chronicle investigators found at least 630000 UST files posted online following the intrusion which hit roughly 12 days after the university completed an ITprovider transition on July 31 Emails and documents reviewed by the Chronicle show thenCIO Reginald Brumfield raised alarms months earlierwriting that OculusIT operates very looselyand flagged that endpoint protection such as CrowdStrike had not been installed on newly provisioned servers Public records cited in the reporting also indicate UST paid about 38 million to Ellucian between July 2023 and June 2024 for IT services and support surrounding the transitionppLocal station ABC13 also reported that a criminal group claimed responsibility for publishing the stolen data and that university officials have been sparse with public updates A UST spokesperson told the station specialists were still assessing affected systems and that the university was working on a statement as the review continuesppAs detailed by the Houston Chronicle the leaked material appears to include passports and licenses logins and passwords bank and creditcard details donor contact lists and confidential settlement agreementsin one case showing payouts of up to 400000 The Chronicles review also found records that appear to name students and faculty in sexualmisconduct investigations along with internal HR and legal files that could carry longterm privacy and reputational consequences The university has said it will notify and offer credit monitoring to anyone whose statutorily protected information was affected once the thirdparty review is completeppUniversity staff told investigators the switch from Elluciana major highered software providerto OculusIT was meant to modernize services Several internal messages however suggest the transition was rushed and poorly documented Faculty and IT staff say key protections and inventories werent in place when systems were migratedexactly the kind of gap cybersecurity experts say can hand attackers an easy opening Not exactly the modernization anyone had in mindppAt least one plaintiffside law firm has opened an investigation into potential claims stemming from the breach inviting people who received notice or suspect they were affected to reach out For example Markovits Stock DeMarco has posted a public notice about a possible class action related to the UST incidentppCybersecurity specialists recommend anyone connected to the university assume credentials and financial data could be exposed change passwords enable twofactor authentication wherever possible and monitor bank and creditcard statements for suspicious activity If you receive a breach notice from UST keep it for your records and consider placing a fraud alert or security freeze with the major credit bureausppCrime Emergencies in ppAbout 16 hours agoppCypress Teen Charged in Fatal HitandRun of Galveston CyclistppAbout 16 hours agoppHouston Officer Wounded in Suspected Road Rage Shooting 3 Detained Following PursuitppAbout 16 hours agoppHerman Precinct 4 Bolsters Law Enforcement with HighTech Ford Explorers and New C4 NOW AppppAbout 16 hours agoppHouston Pedestrian Fatally Struck in Apparent Deliberate Incident on Davis StreetppHoodline Indepth reporting about your home area ppFollow UsppConnectppBut wait theres moreppCitiesp