City College Of San Francisco Computer Virus Transmitted Personal Data For Over A Decade

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The computer networks of a San Francisco community college have been infected with software viruses that illegally transmitted personal data from students and employees overseas, school officials said Friday.

Administrators for the City College of San Francisco found the rogue software, known as malware, in a computer lab over the Thanksgiving weekend. They determined the problem was widespread and that such viruses had been lurking in its computers for more than a decade.

"We looked in the system and discovered these things were all over the place," John Rizzo, president of the college's Board of Trustees, told The Associated Press.

The security breach, which was first reported Friday by the San Francisco Chronicle ( http://bit.ly/xIsyh9 ), could affect up to 100,000 students who take classes at campuses across the city each year. The school has about 3,000 employees.

The college has begun notifying students, faculty and staff that their personal data may have been compromised, officials said. No cases of identity theft have been linked to the breach so far, and no victims have come forward, they said.

The malware, which is commonly used by organized crime to steal personal data, had recorded keystrokes and took screen shots to capture user information and sent the data to China, Russia and other countries, Rizzo said.

Every day after 10 p.m., at least seven viruses were trolling the school's networks and sending data to sites abroad, officials said.

"We don't know the extent to which data was captured," Rizzo said. "We don't know if individuals were affected, if they had data stolen that has affected them. But the potential is there."

He said there was no evidence that the community college had been specifically targeted by hackers. Administrators did not know how the school's networks became infected by the viruses.

Officials said the school was removing the malware from its servers and computers. College officials said they were working on strengthening network security but urged students and staff to avoid online activities on campus computers that require passwords or personal information.

Comments

[johnmichael26]

03:10 PM on 01/18/2012

This is just how they do things at 'city', period. People there don't give a damn about anything, just so long as their paycheck keeps rolling in, they just don't care.
I hope the FBI comes in there to help them with their network security problem, and then discovers all the other crazy things that go on at the school, and then just starts arresting school employees left and right. That would be awesome! The first one on my list would be to see the Batmale hall computer lab employee named 'Rick', who I watched steal someones identity, get arrested. I complained to the school about the computers and the people who work on them a long time ago, I also complained of the rampant abuses teachers were perpetrating against students and the liberties they were taking that were violating student's rights. But the school simply doesn't care about those things all they care about is bond measures and a false image of City College being a great place to go to school at and a eutopia of diversity. More like a eutopia of corruption. City College, the chickens are coming home!

[IDIOTA]

04:52 AM on 01/17/2012

This was an inside job.

[REDSTATEREFUGEE]

11:39 AM on 01/15/2012

Being an old f.....t and a computophobe, my understanding of IT operations is marginal at best, but, it seems to me, a mainframe system, like that of CC of SF, should have been furnished with anti-viral software long ago. Can other Huffposters with a better understanding of this situation help educate me on this matter? Thanks.....

[KirkCLinn]

08:59 PM on 01/15/2012

Okay since I go to CCSF I will try to expound on the situation 1 main server for 50,000 student mobile devices WIFI, 8 large Resource/retention centers, 200 teachers computers and The Schools Admissions and Records for all 6 campuses.

[zombywulf]

02:58 AM on 01/16/2012

only 1 server, then why wasn't it protected only a total fool leaves a system wide open. I'm amazed that some 12yo kid hadn't taken it over for a gaming site.

[REDSTATEREFUGEE]

01:06 PM on 01/16/2012

Thanks for your post, Kirk, but I am a little confused. Does the sheer size of a system suggest that its data cannot be safeguarded?

[zombywulf]

11:29 PM on 01/14/2012

Well anyone who got an IT degree from there needs to return it .And the whole IT department needs to be fired for gross incompetence.