Kansas University officials announced in April that a computer hacker might have gained access to personal information on thousands of KU students, faculty and staff members.

Officials still don’t know who did it. They’re cautious of giving details of what they’re doing to fix the problem. And there’s little chance students will ever hear KU announce it’s hacker-proof.

“That just sets you up” as a target for future hacking attempts, said Todd Cohen, a KU spokesman. “There are hackers out there all the time, and you have to remain vigilant all the time.”

KU officials notified the FBI in early April that someone had breached the security system of a server at the Watkins Health Center pharmacy, which contained information on every patient receiving a prescription at KU between July 1994 and January 2004.

The investigation is ongoing.

KU set up a Web site, www.ku.edu/identity, to give students information about the incident and help them protect against identity theft, but Cohen said he was not aware of any reports of identity theft that had resulted from the hacking.

Here are some tips from the Federal Trade Commission to avoid identity theft:

• Don’t give out personal information on the phone, through the mail or over the Internet unless you’re familiar with who’s receiving the information.
• Don’t carry your Social Security card.
• Guard your mail and trash from theft. For example, put outgoing mail in post office collection boxes.
• Carry only the identification information and the number of credit and debit cards that you actually need.
• Pay attention to billing cycles. Follow up with creditors if your bills don’t arrive on time.
• Cancel all unused credit accounts.

If you’re a victim:

• Contact the fraud department of one the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit file. The bureaus are TransUnion, (800) 680-7289; Equifax, (888) 766-0008; and Experian, (888) 397-3742.
• Close the accounts that you believe have been tampered with.
• File a police report. Get a copy of the report to submit to your creditors and others who may require proof of the crime.
• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. The commission maintains a database of identity theft cases used by law enforcement agencies for investigations.