Boston University admits to data breach

2009-08-24

Boston University (BU) has admitted to a data breach which saw a file transfer program installed on a server in an Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) office at the educational establishment.

The data breach involved information concerning thousands of people, around 400 of which were from the university.

Douglas Sears, director of military education at BU, commented: "Obviously we are distressed that personal information may have been compromised because of an error within our unit."

Andrew B Binder, a network administrator for the California-based Alfred Mann Foundation, discovered the data breach.

Mr Binder was searching the internet for software to help connect to a military website when he came across the IT intrusion.

BU claims to be one of the top private research and teaching institutions in the world.

It has two primary campuses in the middle of Boston, having been chartered in 1869 by Lee Claflin, Jacob Sleeper and Isaac Rich.

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