In an abundance of caution, the Cabrillo Community College District has notified students of a recent data privacy incident.
On May 14, 2024, Cabrillo College became aware of unauthorized activity on the Cabrillo College computer network. Immediately upon discovery of the incident, Cabrillo College’s IT Department took action to address and investigate the incident, which included contacting law enforcement and engaging third-party specialists to assist with determining the nature and scope of the incident. A thorough investigation determined that certain information stored on the Cabrillo College network may have been subject to unauthorized access between May 12, 2024 and May 14, 2024.
Cabrillo College then began a comprehensive manual review of the potentially impacted data to determine the type(s) of information contained and to whom that information related. Once this review was completed, Cabrillo College worked to obtain up-to-date address information for all potentially impacted individuals. This process was completed on Jan. 21, 2025, and Cabrillo College then worked to provide notification to impacted individuals.
“While Cabrillo College has no reason to believe that this information has been or will be misused as a result of this incident, Cabrillo College recommends that potentially affected individuals remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing their credit reports, account statements, and explanations of benefits for suspicious activity,” stated the college in a news release.
“Upon learning of this incident, Cabrillo immediately took steps to secure the network environment, contacted law enforcement, and undertook a thorough investigation,” the release continued. “Cabrillo College has also implemented additional technical safeguards to further enhance the security of information in our possession and to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. Additionally, Cabrillo is offering impacted individuals complimentary one-year membership in credit monitoring and identity protection services through CyberScout, a TransUnion company.”
If individuals have questions about this incident, they may contact a dedicated assistance line at 1-833-799-4299, Monday through Friday, from 8am-8pm Eastern time (excluding holidays).
“Additionally, it is always prudent to review health care statements for accuracy and report any services or charges that were not incurred to the provider or insurance carrier,” according to the college. “As a best practice, individuals are encouraged to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft by reviewing credit reports, account statements, and explanation of benefits forms for suspicious activity and to detect errors.”
Individuals may also place a fraud alert or credit freeze by contacting the credit reporting agencies: TransUnion 1-800-680-7289, P.O. Box 2000 Chester, PA 19016, transunion.com; Experian 1-888-397-3742, P.O. Box 9554 Allen, TX 75013, experian.com; Equifax 1-888-298-0045, P.O. Box 105069 Atlanta, GA 30348, equifax.com.
Individuals can further educate themselves regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and steps to protect their personal information by contacting the credit reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), or their state attorney general. The FTC may be reached at 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement, the state attorney general, and the FTC.
