On September 19, 2023, Lakeland Community College (“Lakeland”) filed a notice of data breach with the Attorney General of Maine after discovering that an unauthorized party had gained access to its computer network for a period of roughly three weeks. In this notice, Lakeland explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access consumers’ sensitive information, which includes their names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, state identification numbers, financial account information, credit or debit card information, passport numbers, medical information, and health insurance information. Upon completing its investigation, Lakeland began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was affected by the recent data security incident.

If you received a data breach notification from Lakeland Community College, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. A data breach lawyer can help you learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft, as well as discuss your legal options following the Lakeland Community College data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.

What Caused the Lakeland Community College Breach?

The Lakeland Community College data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, Lakeland’s filing with the Attorney General of Maine provides some important information on what led up to the breach. According to this source, earlier this year, Lakeland detected suspicious activity within its computer system. In response, Lakeland immediately launched an investigation into the incident with the help of outside cybersecurity specialists.

The Lakeland investigation confirmed that an unauthorized actor was able to access portions of the college’s computer network between March 7, 2023 and March 31, 2023. It was later determined that some of the files that were compromised contained confidential data.

After learning that sensitive consumer data was accessible to an unauthorized party, Lakeland Community College reviewed the compromised files to determine what information was leaked and which consumers were impacted. Lakeland Community College completed this process on August 20, 2023. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your name, Social Security number, date of birth, driver’s license number or state identification number, financial account information, credit or debit card information, passport number, medical information, and health insurance information.

On September 19, 2023, Lakeland Community College sent out data breach letters to anyone who was affected by the recent data security incident. These letters should provide victims with a list of what information belonging to them was compromised.

More Information About Lakeland Community College

Founded in 1967, Lakeland Community College is a public community college in Lake County, Ohio. Through the college’s day, evening, weekend and online classes, Lakeland serves a student body of more than 8,700. Lakeland offers more than 135 associate degree and technical certificate programs. Lakeland Community College employs more than 907 people and generates approximately $104 million in annual revenue.