In January 2011, DataBreaches.net reported that login credentials for the Maricopa County Community Colleges District (MCCCD) were up for sale on the black market. That month, the FBI also contacted Maricopa to alert them to the breach. In response to the incident, MCCCD brought in Stach & Liu (now Bishop Fox) to investigate and make recommendations. Following…
Category: Education Sector
EPIC Urges FTC to Investigate Maricopa County Community Colleges Data Breach
Earlier this year, I reached out to the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), to encourage them to join DataBreaches.net in filing a complaint with the FTC concerning the massive data breach at Maricopa County Community Colleges District (MCCCD). I am pleased to see that they have done so, agreeing with me that MCCCD is covered by…
Minnesota student loan data breach not criminal, review shows
Debra O’Connor reports: State computer experts found no evidence of criminal activity when private student data was exposed on the website of a student loan program, according to the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. “We did the big deep-dive security analysis and discovered, of all the log-ins to that site, there were only three that…
TX: School district mistakenly turns over parents’ information to PAC
Rashi Vats reports that a political group obtained parents’ email addresses from Katy Independent School District in Texas – even though that information should not have been released. Anthony Kessel is a Katy ISD parent who wanted answers after receiving an email from a community-led group pushing the passage of a school bond in November….
GA: Atlanta Public Schools investigating hack at Grady High School
Blayne Alexander reports: Atlanta Public School officials are investigating a computer hacking incident at Grady High School. According to a district spokesperson, nearly 200 computers were affected. On Sept. 4th, Grady High School principal Timothy Guiney sent a letter to parents, explaining the situation. “The perpetrator(s) have transmitted threatening comments on one occasion and also…
Kansas State U. discloses possible leak of student personal information
Earlier this month, Rick Dean reported: Kansas State University officials say an internal error may have exposed on the Internet personal information from candidates seeking admission to the school’s graduate program in agronomy. In a news release Wednesday, school officials said 19 persons who had applied for admission to graduate programs between 2010 and 2013…