Posted on Friday, August 18, 2023
National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) has recently identified a security breach. This breach has affected several higher education institutions across the country, including potentially Kansas City Kansas Community College as it utilizes NSC for federally mandated enrollment certifications and transcript services. It is important to note that no systems operated or maintained by KCKCC were breached, as this incident is localized to the National Student Clearinghouse systems.
The NSC has concluded their investigation and verified that no KCKCC students had their personally identifiable or academic information breached.
If students are still concerned about this breach, KCKCC recommends implementing the following safeguards to protect your personal information:
Regularly review your accounts and promptly report any suspicious activity to your financial institution. Be vigilant for unexplained payments, unexpected notifications from your bank or calls claiming to be your bank. Additionally, consider setting up email notifications for credit card purchases.
Take proactive measures by requesting fraud alerts and credit freezes with major credit bureaus. This can help safeguard against identity theft or further misuse of your personal information if it was compromised. Further information on these measures can be found at https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-credit-freezes-fraud-alerts.
Refrain from opening or clicking on links in emails, texts or messages from unknown individuals. Scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their tactics. If you receive any messages (via email, text, Facebook Messenger, etc.) asking for your password, prompting for Multifactor Authentication (MFA), or requesting your one-time passcode, exercise caution. Remember, regardless of the consequences they may threaten, it is unlikely to be true.
It is advisable to create longer passwords, preferably with a minimum of 12 characters. Always use unique passwords for each website or application you access. Whenever possible, enable Multifactor Authentication (MFA) for an added layer of security.
More information can be found on the NSC website https://alert.studentclearinghouse.org/ .
Category: General
Keywords: National Student Clearinghouse