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Viruses Stole City College of S.F. Data For Years

Posted by Soulskill on from the measuring-failure-in-decades dept.

An anonymous reader sends this quote from an article at the San Francisco Chronicle: "Personal banking information and other data from perhaps tens of thousands of students, faculty and administrators at City College of San Francisco have been stolen in what is being called 'an infestation' of computer viruses with origins in criminal networks in Russia, China and other countries, The Chronicle has learned. At work for more than a decade, the viruses were detected a few days after Thanksgiving, when the college's data security monitoring service detected an unusual pattern of computer traffic, flagging trouble."

5 of 93 comments (clear)

  1. Human failure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "students and faculty have used college computers to do their banking"

    That's the main problem. Using sensitive data through public locations such as a college computer is not, in any way, safe.

    1. Re:Human failure by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 5, Insightful

      After years of explaining this to people, I have come to the conclusion that no matter what people are going to do it. Simply put, if banks allow people to log in to their accounts from random computers, people are going to do so without any regard for security. It is convenient, and the one thing you can expect people to do is something that is convenient.

      --
      Palm trees and 8
  2. Since 1999? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Article says they've had viruses lurking since 1999. What kind of network could possibly contain equipment that old? Also, not exactly a detailed story we've got there.

    1. Re:Since 1999? by FoolishOwl · · Score: 4, Insightful

      A network that is heavily used by a chronically underfunded institution -- that's what kind.

  3. Correction by dtmos · · Score: 3, Insightful

    when the college's data security monitoring service finally detected an unusual pattern of computer traffic. . .

    FTFY.