Dan Medeiros and Emily Scherny report: The city’s public school computers will be down for the rest of the week after a cybersecurity attack infiltrated the district’s internal system — and a solution may cost the School Department out of pocket. At a joint meeting of the School Committee and City Council on Tuesday afternoon, Superintendent Tracy…
Category: Education Sector
Could Trump Budget Cuts Lead to More Cyberattacks Against Schools?
Arianna Prothero and Lauraine Langreo report: Schools stand to lose vital cybersecurity support from the federal government as the Trump administration takes dramatic steps to shrink its size, and the Education Department suspends a major cybersecurity support initiative. […] Education Week has confirmed that the U.S. Department of Education, at the behest of Homeland Security,…
Sensitive data was leaked in 2024 Highline Public Schools ransomware attack
Caitlyn Freeman reports: Personal information including Social Security numbers was compromised during the ransomware attack that hit Highline Public Schools in September, officials announced Wednesday. School officials noticed malicious activity on its servers Sept. 7. The district closed schools for two days after the attack, which was later labeled a ransomware attack. After a nearly five-month investigation, officials…
Over 3 million applicants’ data leaked on NYU’s website
Dharma Niles, Krish Dev and Yezen Saadah report: A hacker took over NYU’s website for at least two hours Saturday morning to expose over 3 million applicants’ names, test scores, majors and zip codes, as well as information related to family members and financial aid dating back to at least 1989. The university’s website was…
Former University of Michigan Football Quarterbacks Coach and Co-Offensive Coordinator Indicted on Charges of Unauthorized Access to Computers and Aggravated Identity Theft
DETROIT – Former University of Michigan Co-Offensive Coordinator Matthew Weiss—age 42, of Ann Arbor—was charged today in a 24-count indictment alleging 14 counts of unauthorized access to computers and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft, Acting United States Attorney Julie A. Beck announced. Beck was joined in the announcement by Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge,…
Takeaways from our investigation on AI-powered school surveillance
Sharon Lurye of The Associated Press and Claire Bryan of The Seattle Times report: Thousands of American schools are turning to AI-powered surveillance technology for 24/7 monitoring of student accounts and school-issued devices like laptops and tablets. The goal is to keep children safe, especially amid a mental health crisis and the threat of school shootings. Machine-learning algorithms detect potential indicators of problems…