Posted On May 4, 2023 Consumer Privacy & Data Breaches
May 4 – A message notifying students and staff of a system outage was issued on April 28, 2023 at Montana State University. MSU’s letter was limited in information, but the university has been added to the victim list of a well-known ransomware group. Data breach notification letters will be sent to all persons affected by the latest data security issue; however, MSU has not yet confirmed if student or staff data was compromised.
Data breach lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. are now looking into the incident at Montana State University. If you receive a data breach notification letter once they’re sent out, your personal information may have fallen into the wrong hands. Contact us at no cost to discuss your options and future safety measures, and discuss if filing a data breach case against Montana State University is possible.
Montana State University, located in Bozeman, is a public research university that confers degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate levels in a total of more than 168 disciplines throughout its nine schools and colleges. MSU has grown from its 1893 beginnings as the Agricultural College of the State of Montana to its current enrollment of almost 16,700 students. More than 1,736 individuals are employed at Montana State University, and the institution brings in around $195 million each year in income.
A cyberattack occurred on April 20, 2023 at Montana State University, according to two warnings issued on the school’s website on April 28 and May 2, 2023. As a result, MSU tightened up its network security and started working to get the impacted systems back up without incident. During this time, MSU strongly recommended that all students and staff refrain from using any MSU-owned computer or MSU-operated wired or wireless internet network.
As the university worked to restore offline services, it prompted all staff and students to change their passwords. There has been no mention of ransomware in any of MSU’s updates.
Royal, a well-known ransomware outfit, has lately added Montana State University to its list of victims, but as of May 3, 2023, it has not published any evidence that it has gotten information about students or teachers.
If Montana State University’s investigation reveals that sensitive student or faculty information was exposed due to unauthorized access, the university will be obligated to deliver data breach notifications to all affected persons.
Montana State University has yet to confirm that there was a breach, but once it does, the school will send notification letters to everyone affected by the breach. If you receive one of these letters, it means your personal information was included in the data breach.
Montana State University is a trusted university, and one normally wouldn’t think twice about handing their information over, assuming that it would be secure. This possible data breach may call into question whether MSU was prepared or vigilant in its security measures. Montana State University can be considered a victim of the breach as well, but it is also the first and last line of defense against hackers trying to obtain personal consumer information. If any evidence comes to light of negligence on the part of MSU in its security measures, such as antiquated technology, you may be entitled to financial compensation from the company.
The consumer privacy lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. help customers affected by data and security breaches pursue legal solutions by offering free consultations. By explaining your rights in clear, concise terms, we help you make an informed decision about your next steps. If you are a victim of the Montana State University data breach, Console & Associates, P.C. will investigate at no charge to you and offer advice on how to proceed. If you decide to pursue a case, rest assured that we don’t get paid unless you do. If your claim is successful, legal fees are either paid out of the funds recovered or by the defendant. If your claim is not successful, you pay nothing.
To schedule your free consultation, just call (866) 778-5500 today or fill out our secure contact form.
Below is a portion of the notice posted on their website:
Over the past three days, University Information Technology (UIT) continued to make progress returning Montana State University services to normal operation. In that time, over 117 servers associated with campus services have been brought back into operation.
Work is ongoing to restore full file server operations. Some of the campus computer services that have been returned to operation include:
Knox
Axiom Elite
Keeper Password Manager
Banner emails
Intellicheck
Argos
CatCard systems
Orientation registration
UIT thanks you for your understanding and patience as work continues. You can check on the status of MSU services, at [Redacted], where you’ll find a link to the updated Services Status page as well as a list of frequently asked questions.
If you have questions about services or need IT support, please email helpdesk@montana.edu or leave a voicemail at 406-994-1777
