Hackers Attack University of Alabama, Alumni Data Compromised

One of the University of Alabama's third-party software and data-management services, Blackbaud, was hacked earlier this year by cybercriminals in a data ransom attack, the Tuscaloosa Thread has learned.

In a letter sent to Alabama alumni last week, the University's Vice President for Advancement Robert D. Pierce said that "some of our alumni and donor records, including donor names, physical addresses, phone numbers, birthdays and donor profiles, were part of the data potentially impacted by the recent incident."

The attack occurred on July 16 and cybercriminals were able to access data from over 200 different organizations worldwide, including the University.

Pierce said notification of the victims affected, including UA Alumni, was delayed at the request of law enforcement.

The letter indicates that the data the hackers stole was not publicly shared and was destroyed has after Blackbaud paid the ransom demanded by the cybercriminals.

"In our case, the comprised data set, which was five years old, did not contain any bank account information, credit card information or social security numbers," Pierce wrote. "We appreciate your support of the University of Alabama, and we sincerely regret this incident with our data partner occurred.

Affected alumni can call the Office of Advancement Services at 205-348-5370 to speak to a University representative about how they may have been affected.

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