KAHULUI, Hawaii (KHON2) — Data breaches have become fairly common in our modern online life.

On Thursday, April 6, the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College said that they learned of a data breach in their system.

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According to UH, the breach occurred in mid-February. The university learned that an unauthorized third-party had gained access to the university’s computer network.

UH Information Technology Services said they took immediate action once the breach was discovered and reported to law enforcement.

“UH and UH Maui College take the responsibility to protect the data entrusted to the university seriously,” said Garret Yoshimi, the UH Vice President for Information Technology & Chief Information Officer.

The university engaged with experts to investigate and determine the scope and nature of the breach.

According to UH, the breach was isolated to UH Maui College’s network. They said that prior to the intrusion from the breach the network was protected by a firewall and other safeguards.

UH made a point to indicate that the breach did not impact the larger UH System network.

The investigation that took place sought to identify potentially impacted files. They also conducted an extensive review of the files located along with any individuals who may have been impacted by the breach.

Current employees and staff were alerted to the breach. UH instructed them to change their passwords immediately.

UH also sent out notification letters to 10,500 people who may have been impacted by the breach. The letter included an offer for free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services through Experian.

“We are fully committed to protecting students’ and employees’ personal information and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or concern this may have caused,” said Yoshimi.

UH said additional steps that affected persons may take include:

  • Freezing their credit file.
  • Placing fraud alerts on their account or credit file.
  • Reviewing account statements and reporting fraud.
  • Changing passwords and security verification questions and answers.
  • Ordering free annual credit reports at www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling (877) 322-­8228.

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UH has asked that any current and former UH Maui College students and employees who believe that they may have been affected by the breach can also call 888-493-2172 between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Pacific Time or 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hawaiʻi Standard TIme Monday through Friday. (This excludes major U.S. holidays.)