Fergie's Tech Blog

Ohio University Server in Hackers' Hands for a Year

Greg Sandoval writes on C|Net News:

An unprecedented string of electronic intrusions has prompted Ohio University to place at least one technician on paid administrative leave and begin a sweeping reorganization of the university's computer services department.

Bill Sams, Ohio University's chief information officer, said he initiated the reorganization on Friday. The Athens, Ohio-based university is reacting to recent discoveries that data thieves compromised at least three campus computer servers.

In a disclosure that hasn't been widely reported, one of the compromised servers, which held Social Security numbers belonging to 137,000 people, was penetrated by U.S. and overseas-based hackers for at least a year and possibly much longer, Sams said in a phone interview Sunday with CNET News.com.

At least one security expert was astonished that a compromise could go undetected for so long.

posted by Fergie @ 5/21/2006 07:05:00 PM