Symantec

The University of Chicago has been hacked, exposing the Social Security numbers of students and employees in the Department of Medicine.

As reported by Hack Read, a letter published on February 19 this year from the university's Biological Sciences department reveals the educational institution became aware of a cyberattack on 22 January. While the duration and breadth of the cyberattack are not known, the university says that a database from the Department of Medicine was compromised in the attack.

According to the university, the data held within the database belongs to students currently enrolled in the Department of Medicine, as well as current and former employees, contractors and students once affiliated with the department. Information stolen includes names, Social Security numbers, employee IDs, username, sex and marital status -- as well as some physical addresses and email addresses.

The University of Chicago did not disclose the amount of students or workers affected, and says that no financial information was compromised due to the cyberattack.

The letter, written by Department of Medicine Chairman John Ultmann and Executive Administrator Mr. Kenneth Goodell, states that a team from the university have restricted access to the database, and the institution has pulled in forensics experts to "confirm the nature and scope of the unauthorized access."

The university is offering a year of free credit monitoring to those potentially affected.

Read on: In the world of security