Texas Wesleyan University (TXWES) is in Fort Worth, Texas; the student population is about 3,000 at enrollment, and class sizes are below the national average. In October, TXWES experienced a network disturbance—a cyberattack, putting all TXWES associate information at risk.
An unauthorized actor breached and then disrupted TXWES’s network and some systems. After obtaining their data, the hackers published it on the internet, immediately putting all those involved in danger. Poignantly, TXWES only disclosed the appearance of the data on their website notice.
According to the website notice, the network disturbance happened on October 6th, 2023. TXWES security experts responded and conducted an initial impact review. On or around October 8th, experts determined the unauthorized actor was successful. TXWES is working to send notices to those impacted and the state attorney generals.
The files may belong to students, staff, faculty, vendors, alums, or anyone with a TXWES relationship. There are no indications of who might have been in the attack, but TXWES’ defense response suggests immediate action. However, those with breached information don’t need to wait for their notice to start protecting their data.
The breach is relatively new, and the information about it is limited. The total impact number could be significant despite the relatively low enrollment population. Those associated with TXWES should consider protecting their information before the investigations are complete in the coming months.