South Suburban College Notifies 96k Current and Former Students of Recent Data Breach | Console and Associates, P.C.

On August 5, South Suburban College (“SSC”) filed a notice of data breach with the Attorney General of Maine after discovering that student information was subject to unauthorized access. In this notice, SSC explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access students’ sensitive information, which includes their names, Social Security numbers, addresses, and dates of birth. Upon completing its investigation, SSC 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 South Suburban College, 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 South Suburban College data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.

What Caused the South Suburban College Data Breach?

The South Suburban College data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, SSC’s filing with the Attorney General of Maine provides some important information on what led up to the breach. According to this source, on November 8, 2023, SSC learned that it had been the victim of a ransomware attack when an unauthorized party tried to access the school’s systems. SCC also received a ransom note demanding a sum of money to secure files that had allegedly been removed from its network.

In response, SCC secured its network and then launched an investigation into the incident with the help of third-party data security experts. Through this investigation, SSC confirmed that the unauthorized party was able to access certain files that contained confidential information belonging to current and former students.

After learning that sensitive student data was accessible to an unauthorized party, South Suburban College 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, address, and date of birth.

On August 5, 2024, South Suburban College 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 South Suburban College

Founded in 1927, South Suburban College is an institution of higher education located in South Holland, Illinois. SCC offers a wide range of career education and college transfer credit programs, as well as non-credit customized training, short-term instruction for business, and dozens of special interest classes. SCC enrolls an average of 9,000 students per year. South Suburban College employs more than 98 people and generates approximately $5 million in annual revenue.