Global University Provides Notice Of Data Breach

SPRINGFIELD, Miss., May 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Global University ("Global") is providing notice to current and former students of a recent event involving the potential exposure of certain personal information. To date, Global has not received any reports that the information has been misused.

What Happened?  On February 1, 2018, Global learned of the potential exposure of certain information related to current and former Global students. Global immediately launched an investigation and began working with third-party forensic investigators to confirm the nature and scope of the incident. Through this investigation, Global determined on February 23, 2018, that a database containing information related to current and former Global students was misconfigured and accessible to the Internet from December 31, 2017 to January 31, 2018. On or around March 21, 2018, Global confirmed the personal information that may have been accessible as a result of the misconfiguration and the identities of the individuals relating to this personal information.

What Information Was Involved? The investigation determined the misconfigured database contained personal information including names, Social Security numbers, and for a limited number of individuals, date of birth.

What is Global Doing?  Global takes this incident and the security of personal information in its care very seriously. As part of Global's ongoing commitment to the security of personal information, Global is working to review its existing policies and procedures and to implement additional safeguards to further secure the information in its systems. Global also reported this event to law enforcement and is notifying state regulators, as required.

On May 8, 2018, Global will begin providing notice to individuals potentially impacted by this incident, and will be offering these individuals access to one year of free identity protection services.

What You Can Do.  Global encourages potentially impacted individuals to review their accounts, explanations of benefits, and credit reports for suspicious activity, and to report any suspicious activity to the affiliated institutions immediately.  Global is providing potentially impacted individuals with contact information for the three major credit reporting agencies, as well as providing advice on how to obtain free credit reports and how to place fraud alerts and security freezes on their credit files. Additional information can be found in the Steps You Can Take To Protect Your Information below. 

For More Information. Global has set up a call center to answer questions from those who might be impacted by this incident. The call center can be reached at 1-855-803-1482 (toll free), Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET.  If you do not receive a letter in the coming weeks, but want to confirm whether you are affected, please contact the call center at the number listed above. Additional information can also be found at Global's website, https://www.globaluniversity.edu.

Global takes the security of information very seriously, and is taking steps to help ensure that a similar situation does not occur again.

STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION

We encourage potentially impacted individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing their account statements and monitoring their free credit reports for suspicious activity over the next 12 to 24 months. Under U.S. law, individuals are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus. To order a free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. Individuals may also contact the three major credit bureaus directly to request a free copy of their credit report. The credit reporting agencies may be contacted as follows:

Potentially impacted individuals may also find information regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, security freezes and the steps they may take to protect their information by contacting the credit agencies, and the Federal Trade Commission.  The Federal Trade Commission can be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them.  Instances of known or suspected identity theft should be promptly reported to law enforcement, the Federal Trade Commission, and your state Attorney General. You have the right to file a police report if you ever experience identity theft or fraud.  Please note that in order to file a crime report or incident report with law enforcement for identity theft, you will likely need to provide some kind of proof that you have been a victim.  This notice has not been delayed as the result of a law enforcement investigation.   

For North Carolina residents, the North Carolina Attorney General can be contacted by mail at 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; toll-free at 1-877-566-7226; by phone at 1-919-716-6400; and online at www.ncdoj.gov. For Maryland residents, the Maryland Attorney General can be reached at: 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; 1-888-743-0023; and www.oag.state.md.us.  Global is located at 1211 S. Glenstone Avenue, Springfield, MO 65804. For New Mexico residents, you have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in your credit file has been used against you, the right to know what is in your credit file, the right to ask for your credit score, and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information.  Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to your file is limited; you must give your consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; you may limit "prescreened" offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report; and you may seek damages from violator. You may have additional rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act not summarized here. Identity theft victims and active duty military personnel have specific additional rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  We encourage you to review your rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act by visiting www.consumerfinance.gov/f/201504_cfpb_summary_your-rights-under-fcra.pdf, or by writing Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. For Rhode Island residents, the Attorney General can be contacted by mail at 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903; by phone at (401) 274-4400; and online at www.riag.ri.gov. A total of 394 Rhode Island residents may be impacted by this incident.

SOURCE Global University