We have been notified by the IIA Global that Pearson VUE, their third-party Certification Candidate Management System (CCMS) vendor, has informed them of an incident resulting in unauthorized access to certain personal information of CCMS customers. An investigation is under way and CCMS remains down. The IIA Global have sent mails directly to candidates who may have been affected and the following resources are available:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is my information on the IIA South Africa website / system safe?
The abovementioned incident was on a third party system, which is not connected to the IIA South Africa system, so the information that was accessed would be limited to information that had been stored in the CCMS System.

What information was accessed?
Pearson VUE has notified us that their initial analysis indicates that the tables containing the following customer information were accessed:

Was my CCMS password accessed?
No. Based on the initial analysis, Pearson VUE does not believe any passwords were exposed.

When will the CCMS system be restored?
Pearson VUE has informed us that it plans to keep the system down until further notice, due to the complexity of the investigation and safeguards that must be put in place to mitigate the potential for future occurrences. No other timetable for system restoration is available at this time. As soon as we are notified of any changes in that timetable, we will make that information available to all customers.

Does this mean my identity has been stolen?
A data breach does not mean your identity has been stolen. However, it does put some of your personal information at risk. Information that may have been accessed could be used in an attempt to gain access to other systems or in a phishing scheme.

How can I protect myself?
Pearson Vue has arranged with AllClear ID to offer identity protection services to potentially affected users for one year at no cost to them. For more information about these services, users in the U.S. and Canada may call (855) 270-9182. International users may call +001 (512) 201-2203 or email global@allclearid.com to schedule a call. The hotline is currently directed to a voice response message, and will be staffed with live agents Monday through Saturday, from 8am to 8pm CST, beginning on or around Wednesday, 25 November 2015.

You can find additional resources at www.theiia.org/CCMS-Outage to help protect your identity. Once the CCMS system is restored, you also will receive additional communication from The IIA with instructions on changing your CCMS password to further protect your information.

Does this mean I can't schedule a test or check my score?
Candidates with a current exam registration may schedule, reschedule or take exams. They also can access the Acclaim (badging) platform, though no new badges will be issued. They can still securely submit documents to The IIA's certification department for review and processing through the Certification Document Upload Portal as this system is separate from the Pearson VUE CCMS.

As always, unofficial exam scores will be provided immediately upon completion of exams at the test center. Official scores will not be posted until after the CCMS system is restored.

Can I register for new exam parts, apply for another certification, or report my CPEs?
No. Until the CCMS system is restored, no exam applications or registrations can be processed. In addition, CPE reporting forms (which are contained in CCMS) will remain unavailable until the system is restored.

What about meeting deadlines to report CPE credits?
The IIA is currently reviewing all its deadlines that may be affected by the CCMS system being offline. If necessary, the CPE reporting deadline may be extended to allow sufficient time for certificate holders to report CPEs for 2015.

I am not sure when my current exam registration expires. What should I do?
Reminder emails of exam expirations are not currently operational. Once the system is restored, we will be reviewing candidate records to identify any registrations that may be expired during the outage and reinstate those parts. You may also contact Pearson VUE's customer service by visiting www.pearsonvue.com/iia and click on the "contact us" link in the upper right portion of the screen.

How can I get the most up-to-date information on the breach?
Pearson VUE has set up a U.S. toll-free number, 855-270-9182, and +1-512-201-2203 for international callers to address concerns or questions. You also will received updates by direct email or through the IIA's website as new information is made available.

How does this affect candidates for the ACCA challenge exam?
All challenge exam candidates have been registered and therefore should be able to schedule, reschedule or take exams.

If I used my credit card to pay for membership, register for an IIA event or purchase a book from the IIA Bookstore, has it been compromised?
No. The system used to process credit card transactions for membership, training events and bookstore purchases is separate from the Pearson VUE CCMS system. In addition, no local Institute systems have been impacted by this breach as those systems are separate from the Pearson VUE CCMS system.