NMSU investigates cyber-attack on university foundation

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — New Mexico State University and the school’s foundation are investigating a cyber-attack on the foundation’s computers.

University officials said that unusual network activity was first noticed last week. There’s no evidence of any data theft, but officials said the investigation is ongoing.

The NMSU Foundation — which includes the Office of Alumni Relations and the Office of University Advancement — is looking to hire an external cybersecurity forensics company to determine exactly what occurred and confirm the security of the network.

The foundation’s network is separate from the university.

Derek Dictson, president of the NMSU Foundation and NMSU’s vice president for university advancement, said the foundation moved quickly to contain any possible data loss by removing all affected devices from the network as a precaution.

“Although we have no evidence of any misuse of information, we are providing notice to our broader university community out of an abundance of caution,” he said.