Cheshire Academy experienced a data breach involving unauthorized access to an employee’s email account, discovered on February 17, 2025, and reported to the Maine Attorney General’s Office on April 24, 2025. The incident exposed sensitive personal information of approximately two Maine residents, including names, Social Security numbers, and driver’s license numbers. The breach stemmed from a compromised email account, likely due to phishing or credential theft, allowing attackers to access confidential data. While the scale appears limited (only two individuals affected), the exposed information particularly Social Security and driver’s license numbers poses significant risks for identity theft, financial fraud, or further targeted attacks. Cheshire Academy responded by offering 12 months of complimentary credit monitoring to the affected individuals, aiming to mitigate potential harm. The delay between discovery (February 17) and notification (April 24) nearly two months may raise concerns about incident response timeliness, though the breach’s scope remains confined to internal employee-related data exposure. No evidence suggests broader systemic compromise or ransomware involvement, but the nature of the leaked data elevates the severity due to its sensitivity.
TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/cheshire-academy
"id": "che036090625",
"linkid": "cheshire-academy",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "2/2025",
"severity": "60",
"impact": "3",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with internal employee data leaks"{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 2,
'industry': 'Education (Private School)',
'location': 'Cheshire, Connecticut, USA (Affected '
'Maine Residents: 2)',
'name': 'Cheshire Academy',
'type': 'Educational Institution'},
{'industry': 'Legal/Regulatory',
'location': 'Maine, USA',
'name': "Maine Attorney General's Office",
'type': 'Government Agency'}],
'attack_vector': 'Unauthorized Access (Email Account Compromise)',
'customer_advisories': ['Credit Monitoring Offer (12 Months)'],
'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': 'Likely (Unauthorized Access)',
'number_of_records_exposed': 2,
'personally_identifiable_information': ['Names',
'Social Security '
'Numbers',
"Driver's License "
'Numbers'],
'sensitivity_of_data': "High (SSN, Driver's License Numbers)",
'type_of_data_compromised': ['Personally Identifiable '
'Information (PII)']},
'date_detected': '2025-02-17',
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2025-04-24',
'description': "The Maine Attorney General's Office was notified by Cheshire "
'Academy of a data breach involving unauthorized access to an '
'employee email account. The breach potentially exposed '
'personal information, including names, Social Security '
"numbers, and driver's license numbers, of approximately two "
'Maine residents. Affected individuals were offered '
'complimentary credit monitoring services for twelve months.',
'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': 'Potential (Credit Monitoring Offered)',
'data_compromised': ['Names',
'Social Security Numbers',
"Driver's License Numbers"],
'identity_theft_risk': 'High (PII Exposed)',
'systems_affected': ['Employee Email Account']},
'investigation_status': 'Disclosed (Ongoing/Closed Status Unspecified)',
'references': [{'date_accessed': '2025-04-24',
'source': "Maine Attorney General's Office (Breach "
'Notification)'}],
'regulatory_compliance': {'regulatory_notifications': ['Maine Attorney '
"General's Office"]},
'response': {'communication_strategy': ['Notification to Maine Attorney '
'General',
'Credit Monitoring Offer'],
'incident_response_plan_activated': 'Likely (Credit Monitoring '
'Offered)',
'remediation_measures': ['Complimentary Credit Monitoring (12 '
'Months)']},
'title': 'Cheshire Academy Data Breach (2025)',
'type': 'Data Breach'}