Hacker violates a WSU computer

About 7,000 students at Weber State University are getting letters from school officials alerting them that a hacker got into a university computer containing their personal information.

It appears the intent was to illegally distribute compressed DVD movie files from computer hackers somewhere in Europe, according to WSU Media Relations Director John Kowalewski.

WSU's information technology staffers say the DVD files were "mainstream" movies — one was a "Star Trek" film — that were dubbed or subtitled for French-speaking audiences.

Investigators have found only one machine at WSU that was affected. That machine was "specifically designated to transmit federal financial aid data to the Department of Education in Washington, D.C.," reads a July 30 letter to students from WSU Interim Provost E. Jeffery Livingston.

"We're attempting to maintain a secure environment for these kinds of data," Livingston told the Deseret Morning News. "We're being good citizens back to the students by taking every effort to alert them."

About 300 letters were mailed Friday and the rest were expected to go out Saturday or Monday.

Security managers at the school noticed "abnormal traffic" on the school's network on July 2, involving "extensive" communications with computers in Europe, according to the letter. The abnormalities were then traced to a single computer in the school's financial aid office.

Apparently, hackers were able to install programs and files on that machine before they were discovered. Movie files were found on the same hard drive as "sensitive" financial aid data.

The FBI has been asked to help in an investigation and the IP (Internet protocol) addresses of the hackers have been turned over to international computer security organizations.

"Our security people have explained that Weber State, along with most other large entities, are the subjects of (computer) attacks by hackers on a daily basis," said Bruce Bowen, WSU associate provost. That means hundreds, if not thousands of attacks on a monthly basis.

"The institution is constantly attempting to upgrade its security for any set of computers we have on campus," Bowen said. "It's a constant cat and mouse chase to try and stay ahead of that game."

It's not known at this time whether any of the student information was viewed, copied or distributed by the hackers, according to Kowalewski.

"The probability is pretty low," added Bowen.

Nor is there any evidence to suggest anyone at the school was somehow involved, Kowalewski said. "This looks to have been done entirely remotely."

The July 30 letter directs students who are concerned about identity theft to the following Web sites: www.idtheftcenter.org/index.shtml and www.consumer.gov/idtheft/recovering_idt.html#15.

Students can also call the WSU Office of Academic Affairs at 801-626-6006 or visit www.weber.edu/intrusioninfo.xml

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E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com