HackingEducationTelecom & MediaEducationVulnerability ExploitStolen CredentialsDelayed DiscoveryCustomer Data InvolvedCredentialsLowResolved

The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inc.

bd_109cd63629957e5b · schema v1 · pii pii-v1

Severity

Low

Discovered

May 10, 2020

Filed

May 13, 2020

To disclose

3 days

Affected

Not disclosed

Linked

2 filings

Confidence

64%

Full breach record for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inc. →3 incidents on file

The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inc. disclosed that unauthorized parties exploited a server vulnerability to obtain administrative credentials and accessed a database containing hashed and salted passwords for online accounts on February 17, 2020. The incident was discovered on May 10, 2020, after an internal alert. The company took the server offline, engaged forensic investigators, and notified law enforcement. Affected users were prompted to change passwords, and the company implemented stronger hashing technology and replaced the affected server.

J jump to incidentP pin to compareR raw source

California clockDiscovered May 10, 2020 → Notified May 13, 20203d ✓ CA 60-day OK3 days discovery → filing

Incident timeline

undetected · 83 days

discovery → filing · 3 days

Feb 17, 2020

Begins

May 10, 2020

Discovered

May 13, 2020

Filed

vs. sector median

7 wks faster

This filing is one of 2 about the same incident.View merged incident

Linked disclosures

Why this link?

Regulatory filings (1) · sorted by filing gap

California State AGbd_557eb7302a7faf952020-07-10 · +58dCandidate

Name: The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inc.
norm: the chronicle of higher education

Name: The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inc.
norm: the chronicle of higher education
Industry: EducationllmTelecom & Mediallm

Discovered: May 10, 2020
Breach occurred: Feb 17, 2020
Undetected for: 83 daysoccurrence → discovery
Materiality determined: —
Notification sent: May 13, 2020
Affected individuals: Not disclosed
Data types: Credentials
Attack vector: Unauthorized Access
MITRE ATT&CK: T1190 Exploit Public-Facing ApplicationT1078 Valid Accounts
Threat actor: External
Initial access: exploit_public_facing

During the incident: Took the server offline
Engaged a leading cyber security firm to assist with the investigation
Notified law enforcement
Changes made: Resetting the password(s) to your online accounts using stronger “hashing” and “salting” technology
Replacement of the server with the unauthorized access
Additional procedures to further expand and strengthen security processes
Source: Quoted from the filing itself, not independently verified.

Time to disclose: 3 days(3 days from discovery to filing)
Compliance flags: CA 60-day OK · 3d
Discovery-date grounding: letter-groundedThe discovery date is the detection date narrated in the notification letter — the defensible tier.
Clock breakdown: Statute Window Elapsed Threshold Status
California
Discovered: May 10, 2020
→ Notified: May 13, 2020
3d 60 days (analyst band, pre-2026 discoveries) CA 60-day OK

Statute	Window	Elapsed	Threshold	Status
California	Discovered: May 10, 2020 → Notified: May 13, 2020	3d	60 days (analyst band, pre-2026 discoveries)	CA 60-day OK

Status: No extraction artifact recorded for this disclosure.

Filing propagation · 2 filings

View merged incident ↗

California State AGMay 13 · first · this page

California State AG+58d

Pattern: first filing May 13 (CA), last Jul 10 (CA) — a 58-day rolling notification. Rolling spreads often mean counsel is filing as thresholds trip per state. Why this link?

Evidence ladder

Leak-site claim

Attacker assertion only. Establishes: claim date, group, alleged victim.

Press / market report

Unlocks: incident narrative, operational impact. Still no compliance clock.

State AG / regulator filingThis record

Unlocks: discovery date, data types, affected count, compliance clock.

SEC 8-K / victim statement

Unlocks: materiality, stated response, full audit trail. Ceiling removed.

Source URL: https://oag.ca.gov/ecrime/databreach/reports/sb24-189946
DisclosureLens links to the originating regulator URL — full filing bodies are not redistributed from public surfaces (§4.5).
Filed at: May 13, 2020
Raw hash: 7676d7d4a912167898a3990885dd36a5179a7c0f0d09d546a202f791949c80fd

Linked disclosures

Regulatory filings (1) · sorted by filing gap

Reporting entityThe Chronicle of Higher Education, Inc.

Victim entityThe Chronicle of Higher Education, Inc.

Incidentdiscovered May 10, 2020

Stated responseTook the server offline

ComplianceCA 60-day OK

Extraction provenanceno artifact recorded

Source provenanceoag.ca.gov