Baltimore City public school officials are dealing with a cybersecurity incident that occurred on February 13.

Officials said that criminal actors appear to have gained unauthorized access to documents with information belonging to some current and former employees who completed the I-9 verification process required by U.S. immigration services as part of their onboarding to city schools. Also documents of volunteers, contractors, and a small number of students may have been compromised.

The compromised files may have contained social security number, driver’s license number, or passport number. The files of the 1.5% of the student population affected may have contained student data, call logs, absenteeism records, or maternity status.

According to the school district’s notice, “there is no indication that the actions of the criminal actors significantly disturbed schools or other functions.”

Upon discovering the breach, the department said it promptly notified law enforcement, conducted an initial investigation, and took steps to confirm the security of its systems. The investigation was conducted with the guidance of law enforcement and external cybersecurity experts.

Since the incident, the school district said it has implemented additional cybersecurity enhancements, including installation of endpoint detection and response software and resetting all passwords of users.

Topics
Cyber
K-12
Education