Wichita State University

In December 2019, Wichita State University (WSU) experienced a data breach where unauthorized actors gained access to a computer server between December 3 and December 5. The incident, reported by the California Office of the Attorney General on March 11, 2020, exposed sensitive personal information of approximately 8,000 individuals. Compromised data included names, email addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers highly valuable details for identity theft or fraud. The breach posed significant risks to the affected individuals, including potential financial fraud, phishing attacks, or long-term identity misuse. While the university took steps to notify impacted parties and likely implemented remediation measures, the exposure of such critical data underscored vulnerabilities in WSU’s cybersecurity infrastructure. The breach did not involve ransomware but represented a severe compromise of personal information, primarily affecting students, faculty, or staff associated with the institution.

Source: https://oag.ca.gov/ecrime/databreach/reports/sb24-188178

TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/wichita-state-university

"id": "wic039091825",
"linkid": "wichita-state-university",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "12/2019",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': '8,000',
                        'industry': 'Higher Education',
                        'location': 'Wichita, Kansas, USA',
                        'name': 'Wichita State University (WSU)',
                        'type': 'Educational Institution'}],
 'data_breach': {'number_of_records_exposed': '8,000',
                 'personally_identifiable_information': ['names',
                                                         'email addresses',
                                                         'dates of birth',
                                                         'Social Security '
                                                         'numbers'],
                 'sensitivity_of_data': 'high',
                 'type_of_data_compromised': ['personal information',
                                              'personally identifiable '
                                              'information (PII)']},
 'date_publicly_disclosed': '2020-03-11',
 'description': 'Unauthorized access to a computer server at Wichita State '
                'University (WSU) potentially compromised personal '
                'information, including names, email addresses, dates of '
                'birth, and Social Security numbers of approximately 8,000 '
                'individuals.',
 'impact': {'data_compromised': ['names',
                                 'email addresses',
                                 'dates of birth',
                                 'Social Security numbers'],
            'identity_theft_risk': 'high',
            'systems_affected': ['computer server']},
 'references': [{'source': 'California Office of the Attorney General'}],
 'regulatory_compliance': {'regulatory_notifications': ['California Office of '
                                                        'the Attorney '
                                                        'General']},
 'title': 'Wichita State University Data Breach (2019)',
 'type': 'Data Breach'}