On December 5, 2022, Hartnell Community College District reported a data breach with the California Attorney General after the school experienced what appears to have been a cyberattack that resulted in sensitive student information being leaked. According to Hartnell College, the breach resulted in students’ first and last names, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, state ID numbers, student ID numbers, and medical information being compromised. Recently, Hartnell College sent out data breach letters to all affected parties, informing them of the incident and what they can do to protect themselves from identity theft and other frauds.
When you signed up to attend Hartnell College, the security of your personal and confidential information most likely wasn’t on your mind. You implicitly trusted the school by providing any information that was requested. However, as a result of the Hartnell Community College District data breach, your sensitive information is no longer secure. As we’ve mentioned previously, hackers carry out these cyberattacks with one goal in mind: to use the stolen information to commit frauds, such as identity theft. While the Hartnell College breach certainly puts you at a greater risk of fraud, there are steps you can take to mitigate these risks. Additionally, if it turns out that Hartnell College was negligent in how it stored your data, you may be able to pursue a data breach lawsuit against the school.
What We Know About the Hartnell Community College Data Breach
The available information regarding the Hartnell Community College breach comes from the company’s filing with the California Attorney General, as well as a notice posted on the college’s website. According to these sources, on October 2, 0222, Hartnell Community College District noticed that its computer systems were not functioning properly as a result of a network disruption. In response, Hartnell College enlisted the help of a third-party data security specialist to investigate the incident and determine what, if any, student or faculty information was compromised as a result.
As a result of this investigation, Hartnell Community College District learned that an unauthorized party was able to access certain portions of its computer system. The investigation also revealed that some of the affected files contained sensitive student information.
Upon discovering that confidential student data was made available to an unauthorized party, Hartnell Community College began to review the affected files to determine what information was compromised and which consumers were impacted. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your first and last name, Social Security number, driver’s license number, state ID number, student ID number, and medical information.
On December 5, 2022, Hartnell Community College sent out data breach letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident. Hartnell Community College District has not yet released the number of students who were affected by the recent data breach.
More Information About Hartnell Community College District
Established in 1920 as Salinas Junior College, Hartnell Community College District is a public community college in Salinas, California. Hartnell College provides instruction at five campuses: Main Campus, Alisal (East Salinas), Castroville, Soledad, and King City. The school offers a wide range of associate degrees and certificate programs in areas such as fine and performing arts, nursing and health sciences, science, engineering, technology, math, and social and behavioral sciences. Hartnell Community College employs more than 573 people and generates approximately $46 million in annual revenue.
