Over 500,000 students and staff have had their information compromised by hackers, reports coming from San Diego say. The San Diego Unified School District announced Friday afternoon that their records may have been compromised by an attack and information dating back for the past ten years could now be in the hands of a malicious actor. The school system stated that the unauthorized access happened ten months ago and was achieved through a simple phishing campaign. Information such as first and last name, physical address, date of birth, phone number, parent contact information, enrollment information, emergency contacts, staff benefits and payroll information, along with the social security numbers of the students have all been compromised in this attack. This information could prove to be detrimental to students and staff alike, but unfortunately it has already been stolen.
Analyst Notes
If a parent finds that their child has been included in a data breach, they should begin to set up credit monitoring for their child. Although it sounds unusual due to the lack of the child’s financial status, because of this, attackers could be more likely to set up fraudulent accounts amongst other identity theft. By using someone that has little to no financial history, it reduces their chance of getting caught. If an adult is found to be compromised in the attack, they should also begin to set up monitoring and review their financial statements often.
