On February 13, 2023, Xavier University of Louisiana (“XULA”) filed a notice of data breach with the Maine Attorney General after learning that the school was the recent target of a ransomware attack compromising personal information belonging to certain students. Based on the company’s official filing, the incident resulted in an unauthorized party gaining access to students’ full names and Social Security numbers. After confirming that consumer data was leaked, XULA began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals who were impacted by the recent data security incident.

If you are a current or former student of Xavier University of Louisiana, the recent data breach means that your personal information—including your Social Security number—may now be in the hands of the criminals who carried out the ransomware attack. As we’ve discussed in prior posts, this greatly increases the chances that you will experience identity theft or other frauds. Therefore, it is imperative that you take the necessary precautions to limit these risks. Additionally, if evidence emerges that Xavier University of Louisiana was negligent in how it handled your information, you may be able to pursue a data breach lawsuit against the university.

What We Know So Far About the Xavier University of Louisiana Breach

The available information regarding the Xavier University of Louisiana breach comes from the company’s filing with the Maine Attorney General. According to this source, on November 22, 2022, XULA experienced a network disruption. While the school did not elaborate on what caused the incident to come to administrators’ attention, in response, XULA launched an investigation with the assistance of outside cybersecurity experts.

On January 24, 2023, Xavier University of Louisiana confirmed that an unauthorized party was able to access portions of the school’s computer network that contained sensitive information. The compromised information belonged to students and vendors that the school used for contracted services.

Upon discovering that sensitive consumer data was made available to an unauthorized party, Xavier University of Louisiana 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 full name and Social Security number.

On February 13, 2023, Xavier University of Louisiana sent out data breach letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident.

More Information About Xavier University of Louisiana

Xavier University of Louisiana is a private Catholic university located in New Orleans, Louisiana. The school is one of several historically black colleges and universities (“HBCUs”), with approximately 75% of the student body being African American or black. Xavier University of Louisiana is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and offers baccalaureate, master's, and doctorate degrees. Xavier University of Louisiana has a student body of approximately 3,400 and employs a teaching staff of over 230.