University of North Florida Foundation targeted by ransomware attack; donor data exposed

Courtney Green, Managing Editor

The University of North Florida Foundation (UNFF) has suffered a ransomware attack to the database storing alumni and donor data, according to a July 23 email sent by Ann McCullen, the Vice President of University Development and Alumni Engagement. The message is also accessible on their webpage here.

The message details that UNFF was notified on July 16 by its third-party service provider, Blackbaud, about an attack on its Raiser’s Edge database — the database that stores alumni and donor data. The email states that though Blackbaud was able to detect and stop the attack by cybercriminals, data such as names, addresses and phone numbers were exposed. The attack occurred in May 2020.

After investigating, Blackbaud strong believes that no encrypted data was stolen. In addition, the Raiser’s Edge database does not store banking information, social security numbers, or credit cards.

According to the email, Blackbaud’s products are used nationwide by nonprofits and healthcare organizations and foundations, with many organizations around the world being impacted by this attack.

UNFF is currently working with Blackbaud to understand why there was a delay between the finding of the breach and the notification, as well as requesting full details from Blackbaud and working with other institutions to determine the depth of the breach.

If you would like to contact a member of the UNFF team, please call 904-620-2100 between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

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For more information or news tips, or if you see an error in this story or have any compliments or concerns, contact editor@unfspinnaker.com.