Richland County School District One

The Vermont Office of the Attorney General disclosed a data breach affecting Richland County School District One in Columbia, South Carolina, on February 29, 2024. The incident, dated November 29, 2023, involved an unauthorized internal access where an employee potentially viewed another employee’s Form 1095-C, exposing sensitive personal information. Compromised data included names, addresses, ages, and Social Security numbers (SSNs). The exact number of affected individuals remains undetermined, but the breach was limited to employee records, with no indication of external hackers, ransomware, or broader systemic compromise. The exposure stemmed from an internal procedural failure, raising concerns over insider threat risks and the district’s data governance policies. While no financial fraud or public disclosure of the data has been reported, the breach underscores vulnerabilities in handling tax-related and personally identifiable information (PII) within educational institutions. The district has not confirmed whether the exposed employee faced disciplinary action or if additional safeguards were implemented post-incident.

Source: https://ago.vermont.gov/document/2024-02-29-richland-county-school-district-one-columbia-south-carolina-data-breach-notice-consumers

TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/the-challenger-center-of-richland-county-school-district-one

"id": "the240090125",
"linkid": "the-challenger-center-of-richland-county-school-district-one",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "11/2023",
"severity": "60",
"impact": "3",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with internal employee data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 'Unknown (employees)',
                        'industry': 'Public School District',
                        'location': 'Columbia, South Carolina, USA',
                        'name': 'Richland County School District One',
                        'type': 'Government (Education)'}],
 'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': 'No (internal unauthorized access)',
                 'file_types_exposed': ['Form 1095-C'],
                 'number_of_records_exposed': 'Unknown',
                 'personally_identifiable_information': ['names',
                                                         'addresses',
                                                         'ages',
                                                         'Social Security '
                                                         'numbers'],
                 'sensitivity_of_data': 'High (includes SSNs)',
                 'type_of_data_compromised': ['Form 1095-C (tax/health '
                                              'insurance data)',
                                              'Personally Identifiable '
                                              'Information (PII)']},
 'date_detected': '2024-02-29',
 'date_publicly_disclosed': '2024-02-29',
 'description': 'The Vermont Office of the Attorney General reported a data '
                'breach involving Richland County School District One in '
                'Columbia, South Carolina. An employee potentially viewed '
                "another employee's Form 1095-C, exposing personal information "
                'including names, addresses, ages, and Social Security '
                'numbers.',
 'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': 'Potential (due to exposure of '
                                       'sensitive employee data)',
            'data_compromised': ['names',
                                 'addresses',
                                 'ages',
                                 'Social Security numbers'],
            'identity_theft_risk': 'High (SSNs exposed)'},
 'investigation_status': 'Ongoing (number of affected individuals unknown)',
 'post_incident_analysis': {'root_causes': 'Internal unauthorized access '
                                           '(employee misconduct or error)'},
 'references': [{'date_accessed': '2024-02-29',
                 'source': 'Vermont Office of the Attorney General'}],
 'regulatory_compliance': {'regulatory_notifications': 'Vermont Office of the '
                                                       'Attorney General '
                                                       '(likely due to '
                                                       'multi-state employee '
                                                       'impact)'},
 'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Public disclosure via Vermont Office '
                                        'of the Attorney General'},
 'threat_actor': 'Internal (Employee)',
 'title': 'Data Breach at Richland County School District One',
 'type': 'Data Breach (Unauthorized Access/Disclosure)'}