Kate Masters reports: After a major student data breach, Frederick County Public Schools now has a clear response policy for future security lapses. The policy — which the Board of Education passed unanimously Wednesday — provides a multi-step plan for school administrators if FCPS data is stolen or leaked. […] The plan sets clear expectations…
Category: Education Sector
MN: South Washington School District investigating student hacking incident
Jessie Bekker reports: The South Washington County school district is tightening security after a high school student hacked into the district’s server and took names, Social Security numbers and some addresses. According to a letter sent to teachers and staffers last week by Superintendent Keith Jacobus, the student downloaded the data to an external hard…
NYC Dept. of Education email gaffe exposes 439 paraprofessionals’ SSN
Jim Hoffer reports: New York City’s Department of Education accidentally sent out an email that had not just the names, but also the Social Security numbers of hundreds of employees. […] “The attachment was a list of Department of Education para-professionals, exactly 439 names, first, last names and Social Security numbers,” the teacher’s assistant said….
Harvard Computer Society’s Face Should be VERY Crimson: Inadvertently Exposed Student Info Online – for YEARS
Hannah Natanson & Derek G. Xiao report: More than 1.4 million emails—some divulging Harvard students’ grades, financial aid information, and at least one individual’s Social Security number—sent over Harvard Computer Society email lists were open to the public until Monday. Teaching fellows, resident tutors, College administrators, and thousands of undergraduates have used the email list…
Hacker Breached Dozens of Universities and Government Agencies, Report Says
Jeff John Roberts reports: A hacker has reportedly obtained access to the computer systems of prominent universities, including Cornell and New York University, and is attempting to sell that illegal access on the Internet, according to a research firm. In a report published on Wednesday, the firm Recorded Future published new details about the hacker’s activities. The…
How IoT hackers turned a university’s network against itself
Danny Palmer reports: ….. The case in question, as reported in Verizon’s Data Breach Digest 2017, occurred within the last year and involved the computer network at an unspecified university. Analysis of the university firewall identified over 5,000 devices making hundreds of Domain Name Service (DNS) look-ups every 15 minutes, slowing the institution’s entire network and restricting…