On February 25, 2023, Southeastern Louisiana University (“SLU”) posted notice of a potential data breach on Facebook. Based on the school’s post, certain SLU systems were down in response to what the school characterized as a “Temporary Network and System Disruption.” While the details of the breach have not yet been confirmed, under existing data breach notification laws, some have said that the incident was related to a ransomware attack. Regardless, if student or faculty data was leaked as a result of the incident, SLU must send out data breach notification letters to all impacted individuals.
If you are a student or faculty member at Southeastern Louisiana University, the recent data breach should be cause for concern. As we’ve discussed in prior posts, hackers routinely target businesses and other institutions known to possess vast amounts of consumer data. The information hackers acquire through these attacks is often used to steal victims’ identities, which can cause life-interrupting consequences that may not be easily resolved. However, if it turns out that the incident at SLU was indeed a data breach, victims may have legal recourse against the school through a data breach lawsuit.
What We Know So Far About the Southeastern Louisiana University Breach
The available information regarding the Southeastern Louisiana University breach comes from the school’s Facebook post as well as several news reports. According to these sources, on February 25, 2023, SLU created a Facebook post explaining that “many of Southeastern’s computer-based systems, including Moodle and email, may remain inaccessible through the weekend due to the ongoing service disruption and system maintenance.” However, the school did not elaborate on the nature of the incident.
Subsequently, various news reports received information that the incident was a ransomware attack, although this has not yet been confirmed by SLU.
While SLU has not yet confirmed whether any student or faculty information was leaked in the recent “Network and System Disruption,” that is a distinct possibility. If so, SLU must notify affected individuals through a data breach notification letter. However, as of March 6, 2023, SLU has not posted a “Notice of Data Breach” on its website.
More Information About Southeastern Louisiana University
Founded in 1925, Southeastern Louisiana University is a public university located in Hammond, Louisiana. SLU offers more than 150 areas of study and has been named one of the top 50 public schools and one of the top 100 universities (private or public) in the South. SLU has a student body of more than 14,000 and a teaching staff of approximately 600. In total, Southeastern Louisiana University employs more than 1,760 people and generates approximately $121 million in annual revenue.
