College of the Desert data breach possibly compromised 800 people

College of the Desert (COD) is notifying about 800 people that their personal information could have been accessed in a data breach.

The breach occurred after a malware attack last summer knocked COD systems offline for two weeks.

College officials said in a statement: "While there is no evidence of attempted or actual misuse of the information, the college is proactively notifying anyone whose information was compromised..."

However, some COD students are alarmed by the implications of the possible data breach and by the fact that the college did not publicly reveal this sooner.

"It's actually kind of scary that something like that could happen," said Angel Campos, a first-year COD psychology student. "Just the fact that somebody who I don't know could know about it. It makes me uncomfortable."

Campos has not personally been contacted about his data potentially being stolen, but he still has concerns.

"I put a lot out to the school obviously, my social security number, everything like that," he said. "I just want there to be more communication between the school and the students because honestly, waiting more than half a year to find out that my data could have possibly been in the hands of somebody else. That's very concerning."

COD Superintendent and President Martha Garcia and other board members did not accept News Channel 3's interview requests.

COD officials said anyone whose information could have been compromised is being provided with free credit monitoring services. A hotline has also been set up to answer questions for those who may be impacted: (800) 405-6108.