IHL says it detected security breach Sept. 7; Southern Miss notified three days later

The Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning said it detected a security breach on Monday, Sept. 7, but at least one state university said it was not notified until three days later, according to IHL and university spokespeople.

John Sewell, director of communications for IHL, said the agency “became aware of the suspicious activity on Monday, September 7,” and issued a press release Thursday stating the Office of Student Financial Aid was impacted but there were “no reported impacts to any individual higher educational institution.”

A University of Southern Mississippi spokeswoman, Jennifer Rigney, told Magnolia Tribune that “Southern Miss was notified by IHL staff on Thursday, Sept. 10. There have been no impacts to our operations as a result of the incident,” in an emailed response.

It remains unclear what information, if any, was accessed in the incident. Sewell said IHL is “working with external cybersecurity professionals to determine what, if any, confidential or sensitive data may have been accessed or compromised,” and that updates will be provided “as they become available.” He also wrote that “the breach was confined to the IHL office and was not a system-wide incident.”

IHL’s Thursday release said applications for student financial aid can still be submitted securely through the Mississippi Aid Application (MAAPP) portal. Magnolia Tribune reported that spokespersons for the University of Mississippi and Mississippi State had not responded to requests for comment about when their institutions were notified.

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