In recent years, there has been a notable increase in cyberattacks targeting K-12 schools, causing disruptions to educational activities and school operations while posing risks to the personal data of students, families, and staff members.
A recent cyberattack occurred in Southern California, targeting the Glendale Unified School District. As a precautionary measure, officials advised students and staff to refrain from using district-issued laptops and Chromebooks while IT teams worked to resolve the ransomware affecting their systems.
Similarly, the Los Angeles Unified School District had to disable all computer systems for several weeks following a cyberattack that compromised approximately 2,000 student assessment records and disclosed positive COVID test results.
Additionally, data from the Long Beach Unified School District was unlawfully accessed by a hacker who subsequently posted it online. The breach involved a list containing student identification numbers, names, and their corresponding LBUSD-provided email addresses.
TPRM report: https://scoringcyber.rankiteo.com/company/long-beach-unified
"id": "lon21304224",
"linkid": "long-beach-unified",
"type": "Data Leak",
"date": "12/2023",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "3",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with internal employee data leaks"{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'Education',
'location': 'Southern California',
'name': 'Glendale Unified School District',
'type': 'K-12 School'},
{'customers_affected': ['2,000 students'],
'industry': 'Education',
'location': 'Southern California',
'name': 'Los Angeles Unified School District',
'type': 'K-12 School'},
{'industry': 'Education',
'location': 'Southern California',
'name': 'Long Beach Unified School District',
'type': 'K-12 School'}],
'attack_vector': ['ransomware', 'data breach'],
'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': ['data posted online'],
'number_of_records_exposed': ['2,000 student assessment '
'records'],
'personally_identifiable_information': ['names',
'student '
'identification '
'numbers'],
'type_of_data_compromised': ['student identification numbers',
'names',
'email addresses',
'student assessment records',
'COVID test results']},
'description': 'A series of cyberattacks targeted K-12 schools in Southern '
'California, including the Glendale Unified School District, '
'Los Angeles Unified School District, and Long Beach Unified '
'School District. These attacks disrupted educational '
'activities, compromised personal data, and led to the '
'disclosure of sensitive information.',
'impact': {'data_compromised': ['student identification numbers',
'names',
'email addresses',
'student assessment records',
'COVID test results'],
'downtime': ['several weeks'],
'systems_affected': ['district-issued laptops',
'Chromebooks',
'computer systems']},
'motivation': ['data theft', 'disruption of operations'],
'response': {'containment_measures': ['advised students and staff to refrain '
'from using district-issued laptops and '
'Chromebooks']},
'title': 'Cyberattacks on K-12 Schools in Southern California',
'type': ['ransomware', 'data breach']}