Washington State University

According to national news media reports, many businesses and organizations worldwide have been impacted by a cybersecurity incident related to a widely used filesharing application known as MOVEit Transfer.

While Washington State University does not use the MOVEit software, WSU has received notifications from third-party service providers that personally identifiable information from some current and prospective WSU students and employees may have been exposed.

The third-party service providers who have contacted WSU include the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA), and UnitedHealthcare.

The National Student Clearinghouse is a nonprofit organization that provides educational reporting, data exchange, and verification services to more than 3,600 colleges and universities nationwide. WSU works with the clearinghouse for a variety of purposes including enrollment and degree verification services and student loan reporting requirements. Data provided to the National Student Clearinghouse includes personally identifiable information and education records.

The National Student Clearinghouse has posted details about this incident on its website.

TIAA is a financial organization that offers investment and insurance services to employees working in the academic, research, medical, governmental, and cultural fields. Washington State University provides names, addresses, dates of birth, and social security numbers for those employees who choose to participate in TIAA services. The data transferred from WSU to TIAA was not compromised.

However, TIAA has indicated that Pension Benefit Information, LLC, an outside vendor it shares information with, has been impacted.

UnitedHealthcare makes health insurance plans available to college students across the country, including at Washington State University. UnitedHealthcare notified the university that personally identifiable information, as well as claims information, for some of its WSU student customers was accessed during a MOVEit Transfer cyberattack in June.

UnitedHealthcare has established a dedicated, toll-free telephone number (1-866-341-4262) that its policy holders can call for additional information regarding the MOVEit Transfer breach.