Lauren FitzPatrick reports: Confidential information about Chicago Public Schools students — including medical conditions and dates of birth — was kept on unsecured web documents that anyone could call up despite laws and CPS rules that are supposed to safeguard children’s privacy. Some of the personal, identifiable information involved requests for certain ongoing nursing services…
Category: Education Sector
Ysleta Independent School District: Laptop containing high school students’ transcripts with SSN stolen in home burglary
Lindsey Anderson reports: Confidential information belonging to Hanks High School students might have been compromised after a laptop containing transcripts of every student at the school was stolen. A Hanks counselor downloaded and saved transcripts of all 1,700 students onto a personal laptop as part of her job, but the laptop and other items were stolen from…
After data breach, FCPS passes new policy to handle stolen information
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…
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…