Pearson VUE, a third-party provider of certification credential management, has disclosed that their Credential Manager System was recently infected by malware and experienced a data breach. The certification tracking platform, used by organizations such as Cisco, F5, and other technology companies, has remained offline since the discovery of the breach. 

The company released a statement regarding the breach: “With respect to the Credential Manager System, we are still assessing the scope of the specific data elements involved. As of now, we do not believe that U.S. Social Security numbers or full payment card information were compromised as a result of this issue.  Because the Credential Manager System is custom designed to fit specific customer requirements, we are working to understand how this issue may have affected each of our customers.” Pearson VUE also provides testing programs for financial, healthcare, and academic clients, but these additional platforms have not been affected by the breach. 

Cisco’s Director of Certifications, Chris Jacobs, reiterated Pearson VUE’s statement that the credential management system is customized for specific customer requirements: “we believe the impact to Cisco users does not include as many data fields as the broader user audience. At this time, we believe that the compromised information, as it relates to individuals who have taken exams for and hold Cisco certifications, is limited to: name, mailing address, email address and phone number.”

Pearson VUE has set up a dedicated hotline to assist users with questions or concerns regarding the breach: (855) 270-9182 or +1 (512) 201-2203 for international users.