Acunetix puts a stop to identity theft in Universities

Institutions for higher education and Not-For-Profit Organizations are experiencing a surge in attempts aimed at hacking their data. The more recent known examples were perpetrated against UCLA, the University of Texas, and Mississippi State University. Acunetix is offering all American Universities and Not-for-profit Organizations a complimentary website audit through its recently launched service, Acunetix SiteAudit.

“There is a general lack of awareness about web application security, ” stated K. J. Vella, VP Sales and Operations at Acunetix. “Organizations, in general, do not realize if your web apps are weak, hackers will find a way to get in and steal your data. What makes the situation worse is that you’ll never know they’ve been in. Hackers will not leave a trail, your data will still remain there but a copy of it resides in its entirety elsewhere either for immediate sale or for later use.” “Buyers could use the data to fraudulently apply for cell phones, credit cards or to launch cyber terrorist attacks. Whichever the aim, organizations are duty-bound to protect the data entrusted them,” explained Vella.

University systems are usually highly decentralized which makes it hard to ensure tight security. Furthermore, Not-for-profit organizations might not have the in-house expertise needed to run auditing software efficiently and effectively, nor want to maintain in-house testing since this adds to overhead.

Acunetix is, therefore, offering the possibility of having their website audited at no cost.

“SiteAudit normally retails for $395. We are now offering Universities and Not-for-Profit Organizations the opportunity to get their website and web applications checked by one of the leading solutions found on the market place today for free. Our web security experts will audit a website and issue a full report,” explained Vella.