Devlin Epding reports what the U. of Minnesota has been uncovering about a breach first discovered in July. After investigating a data breach report from August, the University of Minnesota acknowledged Thursday that personal information about students, prospective students and employees across 30 years has been compromised. The U began its investigation after an individual…
Category: Education Sector
Ohio Community College Data Theft Breach Affects Nearly 300K
Marianne Kobalsuk McGee reports: An Ohio community college is notifying 290,000 people of a data theft breach this spring that may have compromised their personal, financial and health information. In a breach notification Wednesday, Lakeland Community College did not provide any details on the attack, which occurred between March 7 and March 31, but the…
Attorney General James Reaches Agreement with Marymount Manhattan College to Invest $3.5 Million to Protect Students’ Online Data
NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced an agreement with Marymount Manhattan College (MMC), a private non-profit liberal arts college in New York City, to invest $3.5 million in data security to protect students’ online data. In 2021, MMC suffered a data breach that affected nearly 100,000 New Yorkers who were current…
Schools Are the Most Targeted Industry by Ransomware Gangs
Waqas reports that based on research by Sophos, the education sector is the most vulnerable and targeted by ransomware attacks. KEY FINDINGS 80% of lower education providers and 79% of higher education institutions reported ransomware attacks in the last year. Education is the most targeted industry by cybercriminals, primarily motivated by the high percentage of…
NYC schools are tightening cybersecurity. Some educators fear unintended consequences.
Michael Elsen-Rooney reports: Following two high-profile data breaches, New York City’s Education Department has moved to shore up its cybersecurity protocols, increasing its vetting of software vendors and tightening email access for schools and parent leaders. Because of the new protocols, the school year has started without approvals for scores of programs, including popular ones…
K–12 IT Administrators Encounter Additional Security Controls for Users Under 18
Rebecca Torchia reports: Following the shift to incorporate more online and digital learning, schools leaned into the adoption of educational software products and applications. Many of these applications tracked student data, with data collection being the primary driver of some applications’ use in schools, as educators found value in tools that could analyze students’ progress. In other cases,…