#edusec — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #edusec, aggregated by home.social.
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Ransomware Attacks on K-12 Trend Down, Higher Ed Trend Up in 2026:
https://www.govtech.com/education/k-12/ransomware-attacks-on-k-12-trend-down-higher-ed-trend-up-in-2026 -
I'm always glad when I see that NYS has re-audited school districts' IT security to see whether they've improved. I'd be even gladder if the districts had implemented all of the recommendations in the first audit by the re-audit.
https://databreaches.net/2026/07/08/uniondale-union-free-school-district-audit-follow-up-by-new-york-state-comptroller-2023m-61-f/ -
An Iranian-Turkish national has been arrested in Montenegro. He faces charges in the Southern District of New York for hacking, conspiracy to commit fraud, and identity theft.
The suspect “from 2013 onward ... carried out mass hacking attacks on the infrastructure of the United States of America,” including at more than 150 universities, the statement said."
The suspect has been named in local media as Amir Barati, and the date and description of the charges suggest he may have been associated with the 2018 Mabna Institute campaign or a related case.
Coverage at https://www.iranintl.com/en/202606267117
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NEW by me:
After a Massive Hack, Global Schools Group’s Negotiator Acted “Bizarrely.” It Didn’t End Well for Them.
#GSG #GlobalSchoolsGroup #databreach #hack #EduSec #IncidentResponse #GIIS
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Homeland Security wants to know about the Instructure breach; we still want to know about the Navigate360 breach:
#databreach #edtech #edusec #ShinyHunters #Instructure #Canvas #HouseCommitteeonHomelandSecurity
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I'm not sure I understand why people are trying to research what schools use Canvas. ShinyHunters provided a list of all of the schools that were caught up in this attack:
https://databreaches.net/wp-content/uploads/Claimed-Victims-of-Canvas-Cyber-Incident.txt That list has 8,809 entities listed.
It's not the entire universe of schools that use Canvas, but it's probably an accurate list of the schools that may be affected. A sample list ShinyHunters provided for my earlier report on this incident showed filesizes for: communication_channels.csv.gz, conversation_messages.csv.gz, conversations.csv.gz, and users.csv.gz. There were about 7,780 schools in that sample.
And yeah, hang on to your Tox because Session is closing in July, it seems.
#Instructure #Canvas #ShinyHunters #hackandleak #EduSec #databreach
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OK, so it seems that #ShinyHunters breached #Instructure again and replaced login pages with their own message to schools about how to contact them directly.
The Canvas login page were replaced with the message in the screenshot below.
Canvas subsequently replaced the login with "under maintenance" pages.
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Beginning circa 2010, I would call the NYS Comptroller's Office and the NYC Comptroller's Office to request audits of the NYC Department of Education's IT security, as the 2004 audit and re-audits identified major gaps and problems. My last post criticizing the absence of any current audit was published in 2023.
They actually were conducting an audit between 2020 - 2025 and the state has just released the public part of the audit report.
Read Chalkbeat's media coverage of the audit here: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2026/05/04/state-comptroller-audit-finds-student-data-privacy-gaps-in-nyc-schools/
Read the public part of the audit report here:
https://www.osc.ny.gov/files/state-agencies/audits/pdf/sga-2026-23n6.pdfI've posted a few comments at
https://databreaches.net/2026/05/05/nyc-public-schools-lack-central-inventory-to-track-vendors-used-by-schools-nys-auditor/#EduSec #NYCPS #audit #NYSComptroller #databreach #infosec #cybersecurity
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@funnymonkey Thanks for the kind words.
Someone commented on my Instructure post with a comment as "Sysadmin." They wrote:
"Are you effin kidding me! We got an Email from Instructure saying we were impacted and now we have to inform all the students and families in our district.
Why do these ShinyHunters keep attacking the edtech sector?? PowerSchool, infinite campus and now this.
It’s only a Sunday night and law enforcement has still done nothing about these hackers. Regulators really need to hold these companies accountable for poor security practices."
They raise valid points.
#edtech #EduSec #cybersecurity #vendor #supplychain #databreach #hackandleak
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Another #EdTech vendor has allegedly fallen prey to #ShinyHunters in yet another Salesforce-related hack-and-leak incident.
Follett Software markets Aspen, Destiny, and Classroom Library Manager software to schools.
The threat actors claim to have acquired 4 million records with PII and other corporate files, and have given Follett until May 4 to contact them.
Because this is Salesforce related, there may actually be very little identifiable information about students or personnel in the customer support data, unless district or school personnel gave students' names or details in seeking help with the software or specific problems.
I guess we'll find out soon.
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Tax documents for school employees potentially stolen across Los Angeles County:
At least two districts seem to have reported that employees discovered false tax returns had been filed, but the districts haven't been named, so DataBreaches started looking and may have identified one (then again, it may not be one of them!).
h/t, Los Angeles Daily News
#EduSec #databreach #IDtheft #TaxRefundFraud #cybersecurity #ransomware #Rhysida_Trojan
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NYS school data incidents rose 72% in 2025, with 44 reported on Long Island:
https://www.newsday.com/long-island/education/school-data-incidents-nys-long-island-trw4ysk4
Includes comments by @douglevin
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Several #EdTech folks asked me to review the #InfiniteCampus data dump by #ShinyHunters to see if any sensitive student data was leaked as part of it.
I wrote up what I found here: https://databreaches.net/2026/03/28/thankfully-the-infinite-campus-incident-did-not-involve-a-lot-of-non-directory-student-information/
One takeaway for school districts is to remind employees NOT to include student PII or PHI in support tickets to vendors. I've been told it is sometimes required or necessary, but then why weren't tickets like the ones I saw stored with encryption?
#databreach #EduSec #cybersecurity
@mkeierleber @douglevin @funnymonkey -
@funnymonkey @douglevin @mkeierleber
You might want to compare what the #FTC now requires of them to what Illuminate's settlement with three state attorneys general requires:
#enforcement #edtech #databreach #edusec #cybersecurity #incidentresponse
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The Case for Making EdTech Companies Liable Under FERPA:
https://www.techpolicy.press/the-case-for-making-edtech-companies-liable-under-ferpa/
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"Manassas City Public Schools (MCPS) are closed on Monday due to a cybersecurity incident that has led to connectivity disruptions and phone outages across the school system, officials said.
Dr. Kevin Newman, MCPS superintendent, said in a post on Facebook on Sunday that all MCPS schools will be closed on Monday, November 10, as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety and security of students, teachers, and staff. The school campuses are not at risk, he said."
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Entities rush to declare that data hasn't been stolen/they haven't been hacked. They often wind up looking like liars or just more incompetent when the hacker starts dumping or leaking data as proof.
This week's example: U. of Pennsylvania, which quickly declared they hadn't been hacked and it was just a vulgar email sent out. The hacker seems to have proved otherwise.
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Two years after an audit highlighted significant concerns, the North Salem Central School District in New York is still leaving sensitive student data at risk.
When I read audits and follow-ups like these, I wonder whether the parents of the students in the district are aware of these reports at all. Maybe local #PTAs should be forwarding copies of these reports to parents and asking the district why more hasn't been done to implement recommendations made years ago.
And yes, some of you will remind me to have empathy for school districts and understaffed IT personnel. But if we don't want to see any Kido Schools breach here, we'd better start demanding more security and tolerating fewer explanations for inadequate security of student data.
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Earlier today, Matthew Lane, the 19-year old from Massachusetts who confessed to hacking a telecom and #PowerSchool, was sentenced to 4 years in prison, 3 years supervised release after that, $14M in restitution, and forfeiture of $160k.
#EduSec #cybersecurity #ShinyHunters #G0retrance #databreach
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NEW by me:
In a few days, the PowerSchool hacker will learn his sentence, and his life as he has known it will end.
Was he a kid who could have been a "white hat" with just a little encouragement? Are we missing opportunities with some kids?
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NEW: PowerSchool hit by Salesloft Drift campaign, but hackers claim that there is no risk of harm or ransom
#PowerSchool #EduSec #EdTech #Salesloft #Salesforce #cybersecurity #databreach
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I did not mention this publicly sooner because Kido schools in the U.K. was under great pressure due to the Radiant group attack involving children’s personal information and photos.
But now that many people are feeling some relief that the hackers have supposedly deleted all the data and won’t be calling parents again, I can reveal that on Monday, I emailed Kido to alert them to a data leak that a researcher had discovered and reported to me that morning.
He had discovered the leak because he decided to research Kido after reading about the horrific breach they were dealing with.
Anyway, this leak didn't involve student/child data, but there were almost 700 resumes/cvs of employees or job applicants that were exposed. Some of them were for Amelio, which is a Kido school in India. Others were for the U.K. domain.
Kido got back to me the next day to thank me and confirm that the data had been locked down.
I have no idea if they will have to make notifications. I guess it will depend on what the access logs reveal, but this leak was also noted on grayhatwarfare, so it's possible a number of people may have accessed data.
It never rains, but it pours, EduSec edition.
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@douglevin @funnymonkey @brett
OK, so the bad news is that it looks like it's true. I got access to the data tranche and there is a LOT of student PII in there in terms of PDF files/letters and psych evals, and I spotted a .csv file with disabilities records on 2k students from 2017 with their IEP disability classification, name, services to be given, etc. I haven't yet started googling names, so I'm saying the data looks real but I haven't actually tried to confirm that yet.
A lot of the documents such as attendance and truancy letters for named students were OLD -- like back to 2003, etc.
I have a feeling that these records -- assuming, for now, that they are real -- do not necessarily trigger notification requirements under the D.C. notification law, but I have emailed DC to ask for clarification on the application of their law to student records.
I have not really spotted employee personnel data of note, but have only skimmed the tranche with a focus on student into.
If you HMU on Signal, I can give you the entire filelist for the tranche.
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Uvalde CISD in Texas will be closed for a few days while the district investigates a ransomware attack.
They have not disclosed whether there was any ransom note, and if so, who signed it.
KSAT reports, "The ransomware detected by the district is affecting several essential online systems, including phones, thermostats, camera monitoring and visitor management systems, among critical services, the district said." https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2025/09/13/uvalde-cisd-to-close-most-of-next-week-due-to-ransomware-issue/?ref=%2Fnews%2Fnational%2F2021%2F05%2F18%2Fdurst-jurors-to-get-refresher-in-deaths-tied-to-millionaire%2F
It is not clear whether the attackers know Uvalde's tragic history of one of the worst school shootings in this country's history, where 19 children and 2 teachers were murdered and more than a dozen others were injured.
Do attackers really think that a district that has gone through so much is going to pay a ransom? Or did they just not know?
If they didn't know, I hope they find their souls and just give the district a decryptor and help.
If they knew and didn't/don't care, may they rot in Hell.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against PowerSchool over its massive 2024 data breach. The lawsuit claims that PowerSchool violated both the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Identity Theft Enforcement and Protection Act by misleading customers about its security practices and failing to take reasonable measures to protect sensitive information entrusted by Texas families and school districts.
Lawsuit: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/PowerSchool%20Petition.pdf
h/t, Click2Houston
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The Muscogee County School District attack by Safepay in December 2024 has now been reported to the Maine Attorney General's Office as affecting 34,056 people.
It is hard to be sure from the notification letter because it uses variables, but the sample letter seems targeted to adults/employees rather than students or parents (unless there's a second letter that we are not seeing).
I went to SafePay's site and it looks like they leaked the data on August 7. So far, there have been only a few downloads or attempted downloads of the compressed archive, but the download failed when I tried it so I'm not sure how big it is or what's in it at this point.
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Personal data of Manassas Park City Schools students, staff compromised after network hack
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So let's attack school districts during summer vacation when staff may be away, right?
I've been swamped with other work and haven't had time to look into any of the following claimed or reported breaches, but here are some names of districts I've seen mentioned in the past few days:
Fort Smith Schools -- Qilin
Radford City Schools -- INC ransom
Franklin Pierce -- Medusa
Winner School District 59-2 -- Beast
Traverse City Area Public Schools -- Medusa
Ridgefield Schools -- ransomware attack reported in news -
So they wouldn't have committed without that "engagement?"
#PowerSchool #EduSec #databreach
"We take your privacy and security very seriously... when we have to," admitted no entity, ever.