State Ag Dept.: East Texas school districts among those affected by ransomware

Meredith Shamburger reports:

Several East Texas school districts have been affected by a computer security breach, with students’ personal information potentially being compromised, according to a notice from the Texas Department of Agriculture.

Affected school districts include New Diana ISD, Ore City ISD, Gilmer ISD, Gladewater ISD, Harleton ISD, Harrison County Juvenile Services, Karnack ISD, Union Grove ISD and Union Hill ISD.

Officials say a Texas Department of Agriculture employee’s computer was attacked through malicious ransomware on Oct. 26, with the attack affecting more than 700 students. The Texas Department of Agriculture oversees school breakfast and lunch programs.

While the department says it has not detected any misuse of that information, it noted that identifying information exposed by the attack include names, social security numbers, home addresses, birthdates and personal phone numbers.