BU Cyberattack Updates

Now in the third week following the cybersecurity attack, the University has resumed all critical system operations and is incrementally expanding access across campus. Due to persistent issues in the Outlook environment, a number of student and alumni email accounts have been suspended. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused, and we are working to reactivate these accounts as soon as we can.

There also have been several images containing personal information of employees and students posted on social media and internet sites over the past two weeks. The University has provided written communication to these individuals notifying them that their personal information may have been exposed due to the cyber incident, along with providing them credit monitoring and other precautionary measures they can take to protect their personal information.

These precautionary measures are best practices and are available to anyone who may wish to protect themselves from financial fraud or identity theft.

1) Placing a Security Freeze on Your Credit File.
If you are very concerned about becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft, you may request a “security freeze” be placed on your credit file, at no charge. A security freeze prohibits, with certain specific exceptions, the consumer reporting agencies from releasing your credit report or any information from it without your express authorization. You may place a security freeze on your credit report by contacting all three nationwide credit reporting companies at the numbers below and following the stated directions or by sending a request in writing, by mail, to all three credit reporting companies:

Equifax Security Freeze
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348
https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze/
(800) 349-9960
(888) 298-0045

Experian Security Freeze
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013
http://experian.com/freeze
(888) 397-3742

TransUnion Security Freeze
P.O. Box 160
Woodlyn, PA 19094
https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze
(888) 909-8872

2) Obtaining a Free Credit Report.
Under federal law, you are entitled to one free credit report every 12 months from each of the above three major nationwide credit reporting companies. Call 1-877-322-8228 or request your free credit reports online at www.annualcreditreport.com. Once you receive your credit reports, review them for discrepancies. Identify any accounts you did not open or inquiries from creditors that you did not authorize. Verify all information is correct. If you have questions or notice incorrect information, contact the credit reporting company.

3) Additional Helpful Resources.
Even if you do not find any suspicious activity on your initial credit reports, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends that you check your credit reports periodically. Checking your credit report periodically can help you spot problems and address them quickly. If you find suspicious activity on your credit reports or have reason to believe your information is being misused, call your local law enforcement agency and file a police report. Be sure to obtain a copy of the police report, as many creditors will want the information it contains to absolve you of the fraudulent debts. You may also file a complaint with the FTC by contacting them on the web at www.ftc.gov/idtheft, by phone at 1-877-IDTHEFT (1-877-438-4338), or by mail at Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Response Center, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580. Your complaint will be added to the FTC’s Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse, where it will be accessible to law enforcement for their investigations. In addition, you may obtain information from the FTC about fraud alerts and security freezes.

If you have other specific questions, please contact the University at 276-212-2970.

We appreciate your continued prayer support and patience.