Blackbaud Security Incident

We are posting this to inform you that Blackbaud recently notified us that it was the victim of a data security incident. Blackbaud is an engagement and fundraising software service provider that assists UMass Chan Medical School (UMass Chan) and hundreds of other educational institutions and nonprofits across the country and internationally. UMass Chan takes the protection and proper use of all of your information very seriously. We are therefore notifying you via this posting [on our Donor Page] as a precautionary measure to explain the incident. Please be assured that our office does not store social security numbers, credit cards, debit cards, or any banking information in any of Blackbaud’s systems and, therefore, that information was not involved in the incident.

Blackbaud informed us that they discovered and stopped a ransomware attack in May. They conveyed to us that during the incident, a backup file containing some UMass Chan donor demographic information (name, address, spouse name, degree and other information) was compromised. According to Blackbaud, the attack was quickly contained, the backup file destroyed and further threat of compromise mitigated. More information about the incident can be found on their website: https://www.blackbaud.com/securityincident.

Blackbaud has made assurances to UMass Chan that they continue to work with information security experts and law enforcement.  We continue to review the matter with Blackbaud and appropriate authorities and will provide updates as needed moving forward.  Should you have any questions or concerns, please direct them to advancement@umassmed.edu, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

John R. Hayes, Jr.
Vice Chancellor for Advancement
UMass Chan Medical School