University probing student information hacking incident

The University of the Fraser Valley is investigating after the personal information of 29 students was hacked.

The school learned about the information theft on Monday after some students received a suspicious email containing information such as their name, phone number, email, street address, grade point average, course credits and financial information.

According to a news release, the university has contacted the affected students and is working with the police, an external investigator and the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for B.C.

As a precautionary measure, UFV has temporarily suspended access to some student and staff web systems.

“UFV takes the responsibility of protecting the privacy of our employees and students very seriously,” says a statement. “We regret that this has occurred and we are working to ensure these systems are secure and the impacted students receive the support and resources they require today and going forward.”

Abbotsford police say they were contacted by the university on Monday about demands for money that were received involving the students’ information.

Const. Ian MacDonald says the case appears to be an extortion attempt and computer forensic experts within the department’s major crime unit are involved.

He says the case appears similar to phone or email scams where fraudsters pretend to be police or government officials and demand the victim pay a fine or face detention.