Juniata College Provides Notice of Data Incident

HUNTINGDON, Pa., Dec. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Juniata College is providing notice of a recent incident that may affect the privacy of some personal information. While Juniata College is unaware of any misuse of information, it is providing individuals with information about the incident, its response, and steps that may be taken to better protect personal information.

In March 2019, Juniata College became aware of unusual email activity in certain employee email accounts. Juniata College immediately began reviewing this activity and discovered potential unauthorized access to certain employee email accounts.  Juniata College commenced a diligent investigation, which included working with third-party forensic investigators, to confirm the nature and scope of the suspicious activity.  On April 22, 2019, this investigation determined that it could not forensically rule out unauthorized access to emails within certain employee accounts.  While the investigation was unable to confirm whether data in the relevant email accounts was actually subject to unauthorized access, in an abundance of caution, Juniata College undertook a comprehensive programmatic and manual review of the content of the accounts to confirm what data may be present and to whom that data relates.  On July 11, 2019, Juniata College received the results of that review and confirmed that there was certain personal information contained within the impacted accounts. Juniata College then worked to identify appropriate contact information for those individuals whose information was identified. On November 1, 2019, Juniata College began notifying individuals for whom it had complete address information about this incident.

While the information present in the email accounts varies by individual, it may include: financial account information, passport number, and limited medical and insurance information. For a limited number of individuals, Social Security number may have also been impacted. At this time, there is no evidence of any actual or attempted misuse of the information accessible within the email accounts.

Juniata College takes this incident, and the security of personal information, very seriously. Upon learning of this incident, Juniata College immediately took steps to secure the affected email accounts.  As part of its ongoing commitment to the privacy of personal information, Juniata College is working to review existing policies and procedures and to implement additional safeguards to further secure the information. Juniata College also notified federal and state regulators, as required. 

Individuals may find out more about how to protect personal information on Juniata Colleges website at URL in the 'Steps You Can Take to Protect Personal Information' section.  This information is also included below.  Individuals seeking additional information regarding this event may also call Juniata College's toll-free assistance line at 1-833-399-9454 Monday through Friday, during the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, or write to Juniata College at 1700 Moore St, Huntingdon, PA 16652.

Steps You Can Take to Protect Personal Information

Monitor Accounts

Juniata College encourage those who may be affected to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review account statements, and to monitor credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors. Under U.S. law, consumers are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. You may also contact the three major credit bureaus directly to request a free copy of your credit report.

Consumers have the right to place a "security freeze" on a credit report, which will prohibit a consumer reporting agency from releasing information in the consumer's credit report without express authorization. The security freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in the consumer's name without your consent. However, individuals should be aware that using a security freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in a credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application made regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, you cannot be charged to place or lift a security freeze on your credit report. Should you wish to place a security freeze, please contact the major consumer reporting agencies listed below:

In order to request a security freeze, you will need to provide the following information:

1. Your full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.);
2. Social Security number;
3. Date of birth;
4. If you have moved in the past five (5) years, provide the addresses where you have lived over the prior five years;
5. Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill;
6. A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver's license or ID card, military identification, etc.);
7. If you are a victim of identity theft, include a copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft.

As an alternative to a security freeze, consumers have the right to place an initial or extended "fraud alert" on a credit file at no cost.  An initial fraud alert is a 1-year alert that is placed on a consumer's credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer's credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer's identity before extending new credit. If you are a victim of identity theft, you are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years.  Should you wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any one of the agencies listed below:

Additional Information

You can further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, security freezes, and the steps you can take to protect yourself by contacting the consumer reporting agencies, the Federal Trade Commission, or your state Attorney General. 

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); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. You can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. 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 report with law enforcement for identity theft, you will likely need to provide some proof that you have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and your state Attorney General. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.      

For Maryland residents, the Attorney General may be contacted at: 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; 1-410-528-8662; or www.oag.state.md.us. 

For North Carolina residents, the Attorney General may be contacted at: 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; 1-877-566-7226 or 1-919-716-6000; or www.ncdoj.gov. You can obtain information from the Attorney General or the Federal Trade Commission about preventing identity theft.

For Rhode Island Residents, the Rhode Island Attorney General may be contacted at: 150 South Main Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02903; www.riag.ri.gov; or 1-401-274-4400. Under Rhode Island law, you have the right to obtain any police report filed in regard to this incident. There is one known Rhode Island resident potentially impacted by this incident. 

For New York residents, the Attorney General may be contacted at: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; or https://ag.ny.gov/.

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.

SOURCE Juniata College