On March 15, 2024, Saint Louis University (“SLU”) filed a notice of data breach with the Attorney General of Maine after discovering that an unauthorized party was able to access certain SLU email accounts. In this notice, SLU explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access students’ sensitive information, which includes their names, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, financial account information, passport numbers, online credentials, dates of birth, health insurance information, medical information, and student record information. Upon completing its investigation, SLU began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was affected by the recent data security incident.
If you received a data breach notification from Saint Louis University, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. A data breach lawyer can help you learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft, as well as discuss your legal options following the Saint Louis University data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.
What Caused the Data Breach Affecting Saint Louis University?
The Saint Louis University data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, SLU’s filing with the Attorney General of Maine provides some important information on what led up to the breach. According to this source, on March 2, 2023, SLU detected suspicious activity within certain SLU email accounts. In response, SLU secured its systems and then launched an investigation with the help of third-party data security specialists.
On April 24, 2023, through this investigation, SLU learned that some personal information was contained in the compromised email accounts. SLU also determined that a limited number of documents stored on SLU’s SharePoint and OneDrive platforms were also subject to unauthorized access. The period of unauthorized access is believed to have been between December 2022 and July 2023.
After learning that sensitive student data was accessible to an unauthorized party, Saint Louis University reviewed the compromised files to determine what information was leaked and which students were impacted. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your name, Social Security number, driver’s license number, financial account information, passport number, online credentials, date of birth, health insurance information, medical information, and student record information.
On March 15, 2024, Saint Louis University sent out data breach letters to anyone who was affected by the recent data security incident. These letters should provide victims with a list of what information belonging to them was compromised.
More Information About Saint Louis University
Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is a private Jesuit research university based in St. Louis, Missouri, with a secondary campus in Madrid, Spain. SLU maintains a student body of approximately 15,000, which is roughly split between undergraduate and graduate students. Saint Louis University employs more than 5,889 people and generates approximately $534 million in annual revenue.
