Cambridge College

Cambridge College experienced an external system breach between **February 20, 2023, and March 2, 2023**, compromising the personal data of **30,368 individuals**. The exposed information included **Social Security Numbers (SSNs)**, a highly sensitive dataset that significantly elevates the risk of identity theft and financial fraud. The breach was discovered much later, on **July 6, 2023**, indicating a prolonged period during which the compromised data may have been vulnerable to exploitation. In response, the **Maine Office of the Attorney General** mandated notifications to affected individuals, who were offered **complimentary one-year memberships in Equifax® Credit Watch™ Gold** as a mitigating measure against potential identity theft. The breach’s scale and the nature of the exposed data—particularly SSNs—suggest severe long-term consequences for victims, including unauthorized credit applications, tax fraud, and other malicious activities. The delay in detection further exacerbates the risks, as threat actors may have already exploited the stolen information before the breach was identified and contained.

Source: https://www.maine.gov/agviewer/content/ag/985235c7-cb95-4be2-8792-a1252b4f8318/a1239600-4aa3-479f-96c1-b2b170780581.shtml

TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/cambridge-college---school-of-management

"id": "cam029091825",
"linkid": "cambridge-college---school-of-management",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "2/2023",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 30368,
                        'industry': 'Higher Education',
                        'location': 'Massachusetts, USA',
                        'name': 'Cambridge College',
                        'type': 'Educational Institution'}],
 'customer_advisories': 'Affected individuals offered complimentary one-year '
                        'memberships in Equifax® Credit Watch™ Gold for '
                        'identity theft protection',
 'data_breach': {'number_of_records_exposed': 30368,
                 'personally_identifiable_information': True,
                 'sensitivity_of_data': 'High',
                 'type_of_data_compromised': ['Social Security Numbers']},
 'date_detected': '2023-07-06',
 'description': 'The Maine Office of the Attorney General reported that '
                'Cambridge College experienced an external system breach '
                'between approximately February 20, 2023 and March 2, 2023, '
                'affecting a total of 30,368 individuals. The information '
                'compromised includes Social Security Numbers, and the breach '
                'was discovered on July 6, 2023. Affected residents have been '
                'offered complimentary one-year memberships in Equifax® Credit '
                'Watch™ Gold for identity theft protection.',
 'impact': {'data_compromised': ['Social Security Numbers'],
            'identity_theft_risk': 'High (SSNs compromised)'},
 'references': [{'source': 'Maine Office of the Attorney General'}],
 'regulatory_compliance': {'regulatory_notifications': 'Reported to the Maine '
                                                       'Office of the Attorney '
                                                       'General'},
 'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Offered complimentary one-year '
                                        'memberships in Equifax® Credit Watch™ '
                                        'Gold for identity theft protection to '
                                        'affected individuals'},
 'title': 'Cambridge College External System Breach',
 'type': 'Data Breach'}