The University of Connecticut (UConn) has been hit by hackers who stole credit card and social security details of over 5,000 students, alumni, faculty members and research partners.

Tom Breen, UConn deputy spokesperson announced on Friday that the cyberattack targeting the university's engineering school was carried out by Chinese hackers.

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"The university is responding to a criminal cyber intrusion through which hackers apparently originating in China gained access to servers at UConn's School of Engineering," Breen said.

IT personnel at UConn's engineering school reportedly detected the cyber intrusion in March. Investigations by the university and Dell's SecureWorks revealed that the hackers may have breached the school's servers in September 2013.

The University has since informed thousands of students, alumni, faulty and research partners in the public and private sector as the breach may have compromised their personal information.

Breen says officials are still investigating the extent of the compromised information stolen from the university's servers.

"The breach is far more extensive, could impact many more accounts and started much earlier than we originally believed." "There is no way at the present time to determine the exact number of accounts hacked, "Breen said.

UConn authorities say they arrived at the conclusion that the hackers were Chinese based on the type of software and methodology of the cyber-attack. 

The case has since been reported to the FBI for further investigations. The university is also taking measures to protect its servers.

Michael Mundrane, UConn's chief information officer and vice provost said the university placed "the highest priority on maintaining the security and integrity of its information technology systems."

"The unfortunate reality is that these types of attacks are becoming more and more common, which requires us to be more vigilant in protecting our university community," he said. "That's why, in addition to assisting individuals and research partners in responding to this incident, we're taking steps to further secure our systems."

In recent months the U.S. has accused China of sponsoring cyber-attacks against American institutions.

In June, a series of cyber-attacks against the Office of Personnel Management saw the theft of sensitive data affecting over 20 million people. After the highly publicized breach, James R. Clapper Jr., director of national intelligence, blamed China for the cyberattack. He said "you have to kind of salute the Chinese for what they did."

Despite numerous allegations, the Chinese government has denied any involvement in the hacking scandals. Beijing has insisted that China is also a victim of cyber-attacks.

According to the New York Times, the Obama administration has been considering the issue of cyber-attacks and has decided to retaliate against China for the Office of Personnel Management breach.

However, U.S. authorities are thorn between the nature of the response, as they want to avoid exacerbating the cyber-hacking conflict between the two countries.

 "One of the conclusions we've reached is that we need to be a bit more public about our responses, and one reason is deterrence," a senior official informed NY Times on White House deliberations on the issue. "We need to disrupt and deter what our adversaries are doing in cyberspace, and that means you need a full range of tools to tailor a response."

Despite having different opinions on the issue of cyber-attacks, US officials are united on the fact that if nothing is done the attacks are likely to increase.

 The U.S. Department of Justice recently indicted five officers of the People's Liberation Army on charges of stealing intellectual properties from American companies. Many view the proceedings as only symbolic as the Chinese officials will not be prosecuted unless in an American court.

TagsChinese Cyber Attacks on the US, University of Connecticut (UConn) Cyber Attack, OPM hack, OPM data breach, China Cyberattacks USA, US Cyber Attacks 2015