Lansing Community College breach exposed data on 757,832 people

Lansing Community College in Michigan notified 757,832 people in mid-2023 that their names and Social Security numbers may have been accessed or acquired during an intrusion into its computer network.

The college detected unusual activity on its network on or about March 14, 2023 and shut down its campus, cancelling classes and activities from March 15 to March 17 while it responded. Its investigation, carried out with outside computer forensics specialists and with assistance from the FBI and the Michigan Cyber Command Center, concluded that an unauthorized party had access to systems from December 25, 2022 until March 15, 2023. The review of which files were involved was completed on May 24, 2023.

The affected records covered current and former students, prospective students, employees and vendors. The college said the information varied by individual but included names and Social Security numbers. It filed a breach notice with the Maine Attorney General on June 30, 2023 and mailed notification letters, offering a year of identity monitoring through Kroll.

Lansing Community College said it had no evidence of identity theft or fraud connected to the incident. Class action suits were filed in the Western District of Michigan and later consolidated, producing a settlement fund of 1.45 million dollars.