Tuesday, August 4, 2020
Dear Supporter of The Georgia Military College Foundation,
We were recently notified by our data management software vendor, Blackbaud, Inc., of a breach of their system between February and May 2020, and we are contacting you to make you aware. Blackbaud provides a variety of services to nonprofit organizations, foundations, and educational institutions across the U.S. and internationally. Many institutions in the U.S. and in Georgia have been impacted by this breach, including The GMC Foundation. The Georgia Military College Foundation, Inc. takes the protection and proper use of your information very seriously; therefore, while the risk is low, we are contacting you to explain the incident.
According to Blackbaud, credit card information, bank account information or social security numbers were not exposed. However, the data that was accessed may include name, address, date of birth, contact information, school attended, field of study, date of graduation, giving history and name of employer for some donors. According to Blackbaud, the cybercriminal did not access your credit card or bank account information, screen names, or passwords.
Also according to Blackbaud, their investigation and those of law enforcement concluded the accessed data has not been further exposed by the cybercriminal. Blackbaud has already implemented several changes to protect your data and reduce the risk of future incidents. Blackbaud has summarized the incident on its website at www.blackbaud.com/securityincident. While we continue to assess the scope of the incident, we are also reviewing our relationship with Blackbaud to ensure personal information remains secure.
Again, we believe the risk is low based on the information provided by Blackbaud. Nonetheless, we wanted to make sure you were aware of the incident. We sincerely apologize and regret any inconvenience it may cause you.
Sincerely,
Mark A. Strom
Senior Vice President for Institutional Development
Executive Director of the GMC Foundation
BLACKBAUD DATA SECURITY INCIDENT FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
1. WHAT HAPPENED?
On July 16, 2020, a third-party vendor, Blackbaud, informed The Georgia Military College Foundation of a data breach that resulted in unauthorized access to certain information maintained by Blackbaud. Upon learning of this incident, we worked with GMC’s IT team to determine what, if any, data was impacted. Please know that we take this incident and the safeguarding of the security of our donors’ information very seriously.
2. WHAT INFORMATION OF MINE WAS POTENTIALLY ACCESSED?
The GMC Foundation is actively investigating what, if any, information was potentially impacted by Blackbaud’s data breach. Blackbaud advised all of its customers that no credit card information was included in the impacted files, and that no bank account information, usernames, passwords or Social Security numbers were accessible to the unauthorized actor. No encrypted data was compromised and personal financial data is encrypted.
PLEASE KNOW THAT THE GMC FOUNDATION DOES NOT STORE CREDIT CARD, BANK ACCOUNT OR SOCIAL SECURITY INFORMATION IN OUR DONOR RECORDS.
The GMC Foundation understands from the information provided by Blackbaud that certain constituent records may have been included among the data potentially impacted. Such records could include donor names, physical addresses, phone numbers, and birth dates.
3. WHAT IS THE GMC FOUNDATION DOING TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN?
The GMC Foundation is currently investigating the nature and scope of this incident and will work with Blackbaud to evaluate additional measures and safeguards to protect against this type of incident in the future.
4. WHAT SHOULD I DO?
According to Blackbaud, this incident did not disclose information that would put your identity at risk. While Blackbaud has stated that there is no evidence of further misuse of the information involved in this incident, you may wish to monitor financial transactions and your credit report. If you wish to monitor your credit reports for suspicious or unauthorized activity, under U.S. law you are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. You may also contact the three major credit bureaus directly to request a free copy of your credit report:
Experian
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013
1-888-397-3742
https://www.experian.com
TransUnion
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19106
1-800-680-7289
https://www.transunion.com
Equifax
P.O. Box 105069
Atlanta, GA 30348
1-888-766-0008
https://www.equifax.com/personal
5. WAS LAW ENFORCEMENT NOTIFIED ABOUT THIS DATA BREACH?
Yes. Blackbaud reported that they notified and are cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
6. IS CREDIT MONITORING BEING OFFERED?
Credit monitoring is not being offered as Blackbaud stated the data breach did not expose personal information used to commit identity theft. Furthermore, Blackbaud reported no evidence of misuse of the information involved.
