The California Department of Education announced that the data of approximately seven million students was compromised in a cyberattack, following a strike on a system belonging to the Educational Testing Service (ETS), which is contracted by the state to manage standardized tests and academic assessments.
The American website Politico reported on Saturday that the data accessed by the attackers included students' names, dates of birth, addresses, and demographic information, as well as data related to disability status, participation in educational programs, and official assessment results.
The website clarified that the breach did not include Social Security numbers, driver's licenses, financial information, credit card data, or passwords, and that parents' data was not affected.
Victim Details and Timeframe
According to published information, the breach includes students enrolled in California public schools during the past three academic years, as well as students who left the state since 2006 and whose transfers to other educational institutions were not documented.
According to preliminary investigations, the attacker accessed the system and copied files and data during the period between May 22 and September 18, using compromised credentials.
Institutional and Authority Actions
The institution discovered the attack on September 25, disabled the compromised account, and halted the file transfer platform to conduct an investigation and strengthen security measures.
The institution and relevant educational authorities have begun notifying those affected and taking precautionary measures to mitigate the incident's repercussions and protect data.
This breach comes amid a rise in cyberattacks targeting educational institutions and government databases, which can lead to the leakage of personal information and its exploitation in fraud and identity theft.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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