Westminster School

On April 18, 2020, Westminster School experienced a data breach linked to a third-party vendor, as reported by the Maine Office of the Attorney General on December 7, 2020. The incident exposed sensitive personal information, specifically Social Security numbers, of 802 individuals. While the exact method of compromise was not detailed, the breach posed a significant risk of identity theft, prompting the school to offer 24 months of identity theft protection services via CyberScout to affected individuals. The exposure of Social Security numbers highly valuable for fraudulent activities heightens the potential for long-term financial and reputational harm to those impacted. The breach underscores vulnerabilities in third-party vendor security protocols, which can indirectly compromise an organization’s data integrity and trustworthiness.

Source: https://www.maine.gov/agviewer/content/ag/985235c7-cb95-4be2-8792-a1252b4f8318/7ab1c0b8-a73a-4e08-8a8e-9778b75f3a47.shtml

TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/cyberscout

"id": "cyb022091825",
"linkid": "cyberscout",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "4/2020",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': '802 individuals',
                        'industry': 'Education',
                        'name': 'Westminster School',
                        'type': 'Educational Institution'},
                       {'type': 'Third-Party Vendor'}],
 'customer_advisories': ['Identity theft protection services offered for 24 '
                         'months via CyberScout'],
 'data_breach': {'number_of_records_exposed': '802',
                 'personally_identifiable_information': 'Yes (Social Security '
                                                        'numbers)',
                 'sensitivity_of_data': 'High',
                 'type_of_data_compromised': ['Social Security numbers']},
 'date_detected': '2020-04-18',
 'date_publicly_disclosed': '2020-12-07',
 'description': 'On December 7, 2020, the Maine Office of the Attorney General '
                'reported a data breach involving Westminster School that '
                'occurred on April 18, 2020. The breach, related to a '
                'third-party vendor, affected 802 individuals, potentially '
                'compromising their Social Security numbers. Identity theft '
                'protection services were offered for 24 months through '
                'CyberScout.',
 'impact': {'data_compromised': ['Social Security numbers'],
            'identity_theft_risk': 'High (Social Security numbers exposed)'},
 'references': [{'source': 'Maine Office of the Attorney General'}],
 'regulatory_compliance': {'regulatory_notifications': ['Maine Office of the '
                                                        'Attorney General']},
 'response': {'third_party_assistance': ['CyberScout (identity theft '
                                         'protection services)']},
 'title': 'Westminster School Data Breach via Third-Party Vendor',
 'type': 'Data Breach'}