eConcordia System Hacked

Student Emails, Personal Information Vulnerable

NewsKelsey Litwin — Published April 12, 2017

An email sent out on April 11 read that, “specifically that your name, your Concordia ID number and your email address, may have been consulted or obtained” via unauthorized access to the sites’ information system. The school says no financial information or student records have been affected.

University spokesperson Chris Mota said that they estimate that about 9,000 students were affected by the hack, and that they have all been notified.

Concordia has opened a file with the Montreal police, and an investigation is underway. Mota said she is unsure if anything of this nature has happened in the past, simply because they are still investigating what happened.

Last March, keyloggers were found on computers in Concordia’s Webster and Vanier libraries. Keyloggers are devices that capture keystrokes in order to steal passwords, credit card numbers and other personal information.

An investigation had been launched to discover the root of the problem at the time. The university had advised students who used those computers to change their passwords and check their bank accounts for fraud or identity theft.