Cornell is offering a year of free credit protection to 2,500 students and alumni after the discovery that a computer in the Office of Minority Educational Affairs (OMEA) had been infected with several viruses and other malware (malicious software) programs, although there is no evidence of identity theft or any further foul play beyond the presence of the malware.

"We are bringing this incident to the attention of potentially affected students, staff and alumni so they can be alert to any signs of possible misuse of the information that was stored on the affected computer system," said Steven Schuster, director of information technology security at Cornell. "Thus far, nothing leads us to believe that these viruses were being used to collect confidential data, and we have received no reports suggesting that such personal information is being exploited, but it is best to be cautious."

In March, the Cornell IT Security Office found that the computer had been infected. The computer was being used by OMEA staff for planning and development activities, including a study of the Pre-Freshman Summer Program. As a result, the computer contained a spreadsheet with names and Social Security numbers of a large number of students and alumni who had participated in the program. Some of the records go back to a period when Cornell was using Social Security numbers as student ID numbers.

The malware found on the computer was sending out e-mails, Schuster said, apparently low-level spam, but there was no way to know for sure that it had not sent out information from files on the computer. "We are just being very cautious in our notification," he said.

Shortly after the discovery, the university sent a letter describing the incident to every potentially affected person, giving instructions for monitoring credit reports and placing fraud alerts on individual credit files, and offering, at Cornell's expense, a 12-month subscription to an identity theft and protection service provided by Intersections Inc.

For information about computer security at Cornell, visit http://www.cit.cornell.edu/security/.