On Aug. 14, 2023, the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) formally notified our College of a security issue that occurred within their internal systems involving the MOVEit data transfer tool. The incident affected many colleges and universities nationwide, including Blue Ridge and other colleges within the North Carolina Community College System, as the NSC gathers data for compliance and financial aid purposes.
The National Student Clearinghouse notification identified a total of nine individuals at Blue Ridge as having been impacted by the security issue. Of those nine individuals, four of them had non-sensitive information exposed, including only their name. Five individuals had their names and dates of birth exposed only. The National Student Clearinghouse stated that no Blue Ridge social security number data or academic records were exposed. Students who did not receive a notification from Blue Ridge and/or the NSC were not affected by this incident.
Learn how the National Student Clearinghouse responded to this event.
In an abundance of caution, and in light of legal and NC Community College System counsel, Blue Ridge promptly issued notifications to individuals that were identified by the National Student Clearinghouse as having been affected. These notifications included information regarding measures to reduce the risk of identity theft.
Blue Ridge Community College is committed to protecting the privacy and security of all students and employees, and we will continue monitoring this situation for any updates.
As part of protecting and educating our students, Blue Ridge regularly publishes cybersecurity tips in an internal student newsletter. In recent years during Cybersecurity Awareness Month, students were given access to comprehensive, free cybersecurity awareness training from industry leader KnowBe4.