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According to an alert released by Lansing Community College (LCC), on or around March 14th, 2023, Lansing became aware of suspicious activity on its computer network. Because of this data breach, up to 757k people, including staff, students, and vendors, may have had their personal information accessed or acquired by an unknown unauthorized person. Once the college became aware of the breach, LCC shut down the campus and canceled all classes and activities from March 15th to the 17th. LCC claims they immediately launched an investigation with the help of third-party computer specialists, including the FBI and the Michigan Cyber Command Center.
According to the reports, it took until May 24th to determine what information the actor had access to. In their findings, they determined that an unauthorized user may have had access to certain systems between December 25th, 2022, and March 15th, 2023. Those systems accessed by unauthorized users had over 757k students, employees, and vendors' private information, including their full names and social security numbers. Lansing Community College notified the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights, and on June 30th, 2023, they filed a notice of a data breach with the Attorney General of Maine that affected consumers nationwide.
While the school claims they have no evidence of any identity theft or fraud in connection with this data breach, out of caution for its staff, students, and other members, LCC is notifying those individuals whose information was present in its systems at the time of the incident by letter. This letter includes specific detail as to the data potentially accessible for each person.
What Can Affected Parties Expect From LCC To Help Protect Their Identities?
In the letter, signed by LCC Chief Information Office Bill Garlick, to those who were affected by the data breach, it mentioned that LCC is providing those who are potentially impacted by the breach with contact information for the three major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. The letter also states that LCC is as providing advice for those affected on how to obtain free credit reports and how to place fraud alerts and credit freezes on their credit files. Along with the resources the college is implementing, LCC also encourages those who are potentially impacted to "remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review account statements, and to monitor their credit reports and explanation of benefits forms for suspicious activity."
Dealing with identity fraud can feel like a scary and uphill battle, especially when your private information was accessed in systems others swore to help keep secure. If you are one of the 757k individuals who has been affected by the LCC data breach and have had your personal information stolen or have noticed a change in your credit history, you may be eligible for financial compensation. For more information regarding data breaches and how you can protect yourself, you can read more about it here. For more information on this data breach case or to learn more about how a Morgan & Morgan attorney can help you, please complete our free, no-obligation case evaluation form today.