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Hacked: IT Certification and Testing Firm

Pearson Vue, a major IT testing and certification firm, has been hacked. More specifically, Pearson Vue recently discovered malware on the company's Credential Manager System.

In a prepared Pearson Vue statement describing the malware, the company said:

"Pearson VUE’s Credential Manager System is a stand-alone system that provides support to adults in a limited number of professional fields. The issue does not affect the wider scope of Pearson VUE systems, such as the Pearson VUE testing system or PearsonVUE.com. It is also important to note that this issue does not affect other Pearson systems, such as those supporting K-12 student assessments."

Even so, the company is "still assessing the scope of the specific data elements involved." The company does not believe  U.S. Social Security numbers or full payment card information were compromised. Moreover, Pearson Vue is still "working to understand how this issue may have affected each of our customers." The system remains offline while a forensics investigation continues.

Limited Scope?

On a reassuring note, there is no indication at this time that the issue involved the Pearson VUE Testing System, the PearsonVUE.com website or any other Pearson/Pearson VUE systems. The issue is isolated to the PCM system, the company said. Pearson offers IT testing for dozens of vendor communities including Cisco Systems, IBM and Oracle. However, it's unclear to ChannelE2E if vendor-centric information was hacked.

Pearson has set up two hotlines to assist users with: (855) 270-9182 or +1 (512) 201-2203 for international users.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.