NYC Schools Data Breach Compromises 45,000 Students and Staff

by Mindy Cohn

The Department of Education (DOE) officials reported that a widespread data breach in their system has compromised the confidential information of around 45,000 students, staff, and service providers.

In a letter sent to staff last week, the DOE reported that 9,000 Social Security numbers were stolen and 19,000 documents, including Medicaid reports, student evaluations and progress reports, and records related to DOE employee leave status. The DOE did not specify when the hack took place.

Parents involved will be notified throughout the summer and offered access to an identity monitoring service. In the meantime, the DOE is working with law enforcement agencies, including the NYPD and the FBI, in investigating the systems hack. 

As of yet, no reports of any education department data have been published due to the breach.