Westminster College addresses security breach

ABC 17 News confirmed that there was a security breach at Westminster College earlier this year.

School officials said they found out about the breach on March 26, adding that it was part of a phishing scam.

They believe it happened in late January when an employee emailed W2 tax statements to a requesting third party that turned out to be an impersonator.

“We immediately notified all employees of the data breach and provided them with resources and additional support,” said Lana Poole, vice president at Westminster College in a statement. “Importantly, according to our internal investigation, this phishing attack did not affect any student academic records or financial aid information.”

The school said it has apologized to everyone affected and developed new protocols to protect confidential information. School officials also met with employees and students to discuss the importance of protecting their identities.

“We also have started providing resources to all of our employees to assist them in protecting their identity, including a year-long subscription to an internationally recognized identity protection and credit monitoring service, free-of-charge,” said Poole.