The Glendale Unified School District recently found itself at the center of a distressing situation when teachers, nurses, counsellors, and other faculty members received an unexpected notification from the IRS: their taxes had already been filed. What unfolded was a troubling revelation — the district had fallen victim to a ransomware attack, compromising sensitive data and leaving employees grappling with the aftermath.
The attack, which occurred in December, targeted the school district’s system, locking employees out and demanding a ransom for the safe return of their data. The stolen information included employee and student details such as names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and financial account information. As if that wasn’t alarming enough, the breach’s full extent became apparent when employees attempted to file their taxes, only to discover that fraudulent filings had already been made using their information.
In the wake of the breach, at least 231 union members found themselves impacted, facing the arduous task of verifying their identities with the IRS to rectify the situation. The district took swift action, partnering with law enforcement agencies and cybersecurity experts to investigate the incident’s scope and potential risks to employees and students.
Despite the district’s efforts to address the breach, some employees expressed dissatisfaction with the handling of the situation.
This article has been indexed from CySecurity News – Latest Information Security and Hacking Incidents
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