Reeds Spring district alerts families to cybersecurity data breach

pThe Reeds Spring school district has notified employees and families that it was the victim of a sophisticated cyber attack that involved the unauthorized access and acquisition of district and personal datappThey were told that names dates of birth Social Security numbers health insurance information and even class lists may have been obtainedppAccording to a threepage letter sent to the impacted families the district discovered the security incident or data breach May 18ppThe district launched an immediate investigation which involved external cybersecurity professionals and learned Sept 28 that the incident likely occurred within a threeweek window starting as early as April 26ppUpon confirmation of the unauthorized access to our data we retained a thirdparty expert to help us conduct a full investigation into the data that was potentially subject to unauthorized access and acquisition Superintendent Cody Hirschi wrote in an Oct 20 message to employees obtained by the NewsLeaderppThe investigation discovered that the sensitive data of certain individuals was amongst the data that was subject to the incidentppThe district located 35 miles south of Springfield has 330 employees and nearly 1800 studentsppWe take this situation very seriously and have worked diligently to understand the scope of the incident and the individuals that may have been impacted Hirschi wrote to employeesppWhile cybersecurity threats continue to impact all of us we are taking everincreasing measures to continually evaluate and modify our practices to enhance the security and privacy of all information in our possessionppThe NewsLeader asked the district for a copy of the letter and an interview Ben Fisher director of communications provided the letter to families and an additional statementppIn it the district said it is actively responding to a data breach believes a safe environment is essential and remains committed to protecting the privacy and security of students and staffppWe understand the concerns and inconveniences this incident may cause and encourage all affected individuals to remain vigilant and monitor their financial accounts and personal information for any signs of suspicious activity the district said in the statementppAsked why families were only recently notified about an incident that occurred months ago Fisher responded We have been working closely with cybersecurity experts and legal counsel to complete the investigation and the notification process The timeline has followed their expert guidanceppThe district also listed four steps it has takenppIn the letter the district outlined steps families can take to protect against misuse of the datappMore Reeds Spring breaks ground on new regional career centerppThe district has provided them with access to credit monitoring services at no charge for a year The service provides timely alerts to any changes to their credit file and proactive fraud assistantppThe district also encouraged families to place a fraud alert and security freeze on their credit files with all three national credit reporting companiesppClaudette Riley covers education for the NewsLeader Email tips and story ideas to crileynewsleadercomp