Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Direct Deposit Breach Strikes Illinois State

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 03/07/16

A central Illinois newspaper has reported a breach within Illinois State University in which direct deposit payroll payments for 13 school employees were diverted to a different bank account.

According to reporting in The Pantagraph, the university learned about the problem when one of the affected employees reported it. The total amount was about $50,000, and the university has made up the loss to the employees. It has also sent out emails to faculty, staff and students to alert them to check their own accounts for "suspicious activity."

The university's chief of staff, Jay Groves, told the newspaper that the break-in resulted when somebody accessed the university logins of the people who were affected, allowing the hacker to access their accounts and change their direct-deposit information. To prevent that from happening again, the school has shut down  that specific self-serve functionality within its human resource information system, iPeople, temporarily, "to preserve payroll data integrity."

Both the university's IT and police departments are working with other law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, on the case. Groves added that similar crimes have occurred at other universities, and they've been contacted as part of the investigation.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • abstract smartphone translucent screen displaying AI interface

    Apple Introduces Redesigned Siri AI

    At its recent Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple introduced Siri AI, a redesigned version of its voice assistant that Apple describes in its own announcement as "a profoundly more capable and personal assistant." The update is intended to make Siri more conversational, more context-aware, and more useful across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro.

  • blue wooden cubes block texture abstract background

    Gartner Estimates Worldwide IT Spending at $6.31T for 2026

    Gartner recently forecast that worldwide IT spending will total $6.31 trillion in 2026, a 13.5% increase from 2025. Sectors experiencing the largest growth include data center systems, software, and IT services.

  • people as silhouettes on a glowing network grid

    Human-Centered Workforce Development in an Age of Advanced Technology

    Marc Booker, vice provost of strategy at the University of Phoenix, examines how to recognize and promote human-centered workforce development in higher education.

  • Dana Brunson facilitates a roundtable discussion with research and higher education IT leaders

    Internet2: Closing the Access Gap for Research Cyberinfrastructure

    Internet2's Research Engagement Team brings CIOs and other campus technology leadership together with research computing and data facilitators, forming a community that enables research cyberinfrastructure at institutions of all types and sizes.