Nearly 100,000 Affected by Prince George’s County Public Schools Breach
Alright, pull up a seat and lend an ear, for we’re about to delve into a riveting tale from the depths of the cyber realm! The scene? August of 2023, where the peace of Prince George’s County Public Schools was rattled by a nasty cyberattack. Truly a bit of a sticky wicket as they hurriedly discovered an estimated 4,500 user accounts in danger’s path out of a whopping 180,000 total.
Regrettably, it’s primarily the poor staff who were ensnared in this digital escapade. Quite understandably, the dust was still settling at the time, making it difficult for our friends to get a full grasp of the extent of the damage. Thankfully, it seemed their major systems, Oracle and SchoolMAX, managed to dodge the digital bullets in this shocking incident.
A few months later, in November, a brazen acknowledgment emerged from the shadows. Yes, you guessed it right. It was the Rhysida ransomware group, owning to their mischievous deed. They had the audacity to commit the crime, then swing around to claim responsibility while setting the stolen data up for sale. Cheeky roundabouts, weren’t they?
As the saga continued, Rhysida fancied an update to their infamous listing – spilling out all the data bits and bobs that they hadn’t managed to sell. I’d be lying if I told you we knew if any of their data was ever actually traded. They boasted of having in their possession over 1.4 million files and a staggering 1.2 terabytes of data. Quite the hoarders of ill-gotten gain, I must say!
Just recently, in a turn of events, the district had to reach out to the Maine Attorney General’s Office with some rather troubling news – 99,543 souls were impacted by this digital hurricane. Now, what did the nefarious hackers get their mitts on, you may ask? The notification letter shared the grim details. From personal names to financial account details and even Social Security numbers, the pilfered information ran the gamut.
The letter, more of a template really, did not spill every bean on the type of data that was compromised. However, it did hit the mailboxes of those likely to be affected — a group primarily composed of current and past employees and students, as well as wannabe employees of the school district.
There you have it, a stirring saga of a digital raid on Prince George’s County Public Schools and the unfortunate aftermath. Magnifying the ever-increasing importance of cybersecurity in our lives today, especially in the realm of healthcare and education where the privacy stakes are high. Alas, technology may have opened new doors, but it makes you wonder how many dodgy characters are trying their luck with the locks, doesn’t it?
by Parker Bytes