Hackers invade IU Foundation site

IU Foundation employees were advised to change their computer passwords and to contact their banks because a computer hacker might have accessed their personal information Friday.\nIU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger said an initial report was made Jan. 28 by an IU Foundation employee who suspected someone hacked into the computer system.\nIU Foundation spokeswoman Barbara Coffman said a system administrator first realized something looked "unusual" on the network.\n"He literally pulled the plug on all of the servers," Coffman said. "We looked around a little bit more and filed a police report right away."\nCoffman said one of the servers contained personal information for all IU employees. \n"We don't know whether anyone accessed it," she said. "But we suspect the intruder was on the system for a very short time. We believe the intruder was looking for space to store files rather than accessing information."\nCoffman said after shutting down computer systems, all employees were notified of the situation and were advised to change their passwords and consult their banks because of the possibility of someone obtaining access to payroll information.\n"Each employee is making an individual decision about how to proceed from here," Coffman said. \nThe Federal Bureau of Investigations was contacted following the incident, Coffman said.\n"We don't know where the intruder is from," she said. "It's possible that this is someone in another state. Right now we are doing what the FBI is telling us to do so they can do what they need to do."\n"I know (University Information Technology Services) is constantly trying to keep updated with the best firewalls and anti-virus protections," said IUPD Detective Greg McClure, who is also investigating the case. "They constantly scan the systems to make sure nothing is there that isn't supposed to be."\nComputer hacking is a Class D felony and a violation of state and federal laws.\nAccording to Indiana law, "A person who knowingly or intentionally alters or damages a computer program or data ... without the consent of a computer owner commits computer tampering." \n-- Contact Staff Writer Lori Geller at lfgeller@indiana.edu.