Data security breach at Rutgers leaves the information of 1,700 students unprotected

On Nov. 8 and 9, Rutgers experienced a “data security” breach that left the information of nearly 1,700 students unprotected, said Neal Buccino, a University spokesperson. 

This incident affected students in the Department of Computer Science and revealed information including Rutgers I.D. numbers, cumulative GPAs and Spring 2018 class schedules. Sensitive information, such as Social Security numbers, addresses and financial information was not included in this data. 

“Due to an administrative error, Rutgers University -- New Brunswick experienced a data security incident from November 8 to November 9 that exposed limited academic data,” Buccino said in an email to The Daily Targum. 

According to the University, approximately 18 students have accessed this data by mistake and were subsequently alerted that this information was confidential. 

All students whose information was released were notified of the error and were assured that their data was not changed. 

“The relevant security policies have been reviewed and updated to ensure that this type of error does not occur in the future,” Buccino said.