Hacker hits UNC-CH study data on 236,000 women

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Computer specialists at the University of North Carolina’s flagship campus say a hacker may have accessed the personal data of 236,000 women in a mammography research study.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Friday that the Social Security numbers of more than half of the study participants at UNC-Chapel Hill may have been exposed.

The unauthorized access was detected about two months ago, but computer forensics experts say it may have happened up to two years ago.

University Radiology Department chairman Matthew Mauro say there’s no evidence that any information has been removed, but no one is sure.

Computer forensic experts don’t know who did the hacking or whether data was downloaded.

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