AccidentalEducationEducationMisconfigurationCustomer Data InvolvedEmployee Data InvolvedIdentity (basic)Government IDHighResolved

WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE

bd_dd31a6bcb35db7c0 · schema v1 · pii pii-v1

Severity

High

Discovered

Sep 18, 2024

Filed

Nov 5, 2024

To disclose

7 weeks

Affected · nationwide

6,691114 in this filing

Linked

6 filings

Confidence

66%

Full breach record for WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE →2 incidents on file

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) disclosed a data event on September 18, 2024, where a software application share with restricted access was inadvertently made accessible to other WPI users. A student discovered and self-reported the issue. The incident exposed names and Social Security numbers of 6,691 individuals, including 114 Maine residents. WPI applied access restrictions, engaged third-party specialists, and provided 12 months of credit monitoring to affected individuals. Notices were sent on November 5, 2024.

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Maine clockDiscovered Sep 18, 2024 → Filed with AG Nov 5, 202448d ⏱ ME AG >30d7 weeks discovery → filing

⚠ occurrence dateThe stored discovery date equals the breach OCCURRENCE date. Detection is normally later, so this OVERSTATES the delay — a 'late' verdict here may not be real.

Incident timeline

discovery → filing · 7 weeks / 48 days

Sep 18, 2024

Begins

Sep 18, 2024

Discovered

Nov 5, 2024

Filed

This filing is one of 6 filings about the same incident.View merged incident

Linked disclosures

Why this link?

Regulatory filings (5) · sorted by filing gap

Montana State AGbd_1b0b67d59c1c7e342024-11-05Candidate
Massachusetts State AGbd_58d87530b1b569712024-11-05Verified
Indiana State AGbd_5f93ce13f87be59a2024-11-05Verified
Vermont State AGbd_777c79b59ffc35952024-11-05Verified

Show 1 more filing ↓

New Hampshire State AGbd_98eca8cd1736063d2024-11-05Verified

Name: WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
norm: worcester polytechnic institute
Domain: wpi.edu
Industry: Education

Name: WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
norm: worcester polytechnic institute
Domain: wpi.edu
Industry: Education
Industry: Educationllm

Discovered: Sep 18, 2024
Breach occurred: Sep 18, 2024
Undetected for: 0 daysoccurrence → discovery
Materiality determined: —
Notification sent: Nov 5, 2024
Affected individuals: 6,691state + nationwide
Data types: Identity (basic)Government ID
Attack vector: Misconfiguration
MITRE ATT&CK: T1078 Valid AccountsT1119 Automated Collection
Threat actor: Internal
Regulator citations: Provided written notice to relevant state regulators

During the incident: Applied access restrictions to the share
Launched an internal investigation
Engaged third-party specialists to validate independently that no other connection occurred
Reviewed internally the accessible data to identify the individuals whose information resided in it
Provided access to credit monitoring services for one year through Experian
Provided impacted individuals with guidance on how to better protect against identity theft and fraud
Provided written notice to relevant state regulators
Changes made: Reviewing policies, procedures, and processes related to the storage and access of personal information to limit the likelihood that similar events will occur in the future
Source: Quoted from the filing itself, not independently verified.

Time to disclose: 7 weeks(48 days from discovery to filing)
Compliance flags: ME AG >30d · 48d
Discovery-date grounding: occurrence dateThe stored discovery date equals the breach OCCURRENCE date. Detection is normally later, so this OVERSTATES the delay — a 'late' verdict here may not be real.
Clock breakdown: Statute Window Elapsed Threshold Status
Maine
Discovered: Sep 18, 2024
→ Filed with AG: Nov 5, 2024
48d 30 days (soft) ME AG >30d

Statute	Window	Elapsed	Threshold	Status
Maine	Discovered: Sep 18, 2024 → Filed with AG: Nov 5, 2024	48d	30 days (soft)	ME AG >30d

Status: No extraction artifact recorded for this disclosure.

Filing propagation · 6 filings · 6 states

View merged incident ↗

Montana State AGNov 5 · first

Massachusetts State AGNov 5 · first

Indiana State AGNov 5 · first

Vermont State AGNov 5 · first

New Hampshire State AGNov 5 · first

Maine State AGNov 5 · first · this page

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://www.maine.gov/agviewer/content/ag/985235c7-cb95-4be2-8792-a1252b4f8318/46a1ea22-3224-43c1-8013-7d4c89a4254d.html
DisclosureLens links to the originating regulator URL — full filing bodies are not redistributed from public surfaces (§4.5).
Filed at: Nov 5, 2024
Raw hash: 0e470df18c592932260ad7aae2b8fa18a1cf09cf6c187790fd82a65494a6d248

Linked disclosures

Regulatory filings (5) · sorted by filing gap

Reporting entityWORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE

Victim entityWORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE

Incidentdiscovered Sep 18, 2024

Stated responseApplied access restrictions to the share

ComplianceME AG >30d

Extraction provenanceno artifact recorded

Source provenancewww.maine.gov