(WFXR) — Bluefield University suffered a cyber attack over the weekend that led them to shut down their systems right before final exams.
Mary Hamilton, cyber security expert and CEO of Mad Data IO, said there are two reasons hackers target colleges and universities. One, schools often have smaller IT teams with less funding than some other large institutions.
“The second part is, they are a landmine,” said Hamilton. “Data is the new currency right, so universities have medical data, personal identifiable information, they have social security numbers, they have addresses, they have credit card information, they have it all. It’s like a superstore for hackers.”
Bluefield students couldn’t access their accounts while the university secured against the breach. Hamilton said shutting down access is the best thing a school can do under these circumstances. Faculty and staff can now safely use their accounts.
