The California Department of Education notified school districts, including the William S. Hart Union High School District, of a security data breach that compromised student information on Monday, through Educational Testing Service, the organization used to manage state testing.
A districtwide message sent to families on Monday evening stated that a data security incident involving Educational Testing Service, contracted by the state to manage state and federally required testing throughout public schools, had a data security incident in which an unauthorized party accessed and copied student information through one of its systems.
“Please note that the Hart district’s internal networks and data systems were NOT breached,” a copy of the district-wide message provided by Debbie Dunn, director of communication and community engagement, read on Tuesday.
The message also stated that ETS would notify affected students and families directly and was willing to offer two years of complimentary identity-protection services through Experian IndentityWorks.
According to the Department of Education, ETS identified the unauthorized activity on Sept. 25. Officials disabled the account involved, initiated an investigation with external cybersecurity experts and, following an investigation, determined that the unauthorized party used a comprised log-in credential to access and copy files containing student information from May 22 to Sept. 18.
The student information accessed and copied varies by individual, but may have included: Student names, dates of birth, residential addresses, schools, districts, and grade levels, statewide student identifier (SSID) and local student identifier. A Statewide Student Identifier is a unique, randomly generated 10-digit number assigned to an individual student within the California public K-12 educational system, according to the Department of Education.
For more information on the incident, current updates, and frequently asked questions, the Hart district advised families to access the ETS Incident page under the Department of Education website at: www.cde.ca.gov/nr/in/ets-incident.asp.
“We understand that this news may be concerning. We are sharing these resources to help families access accurate information and available support,” the Hart district statement read.
