Ransomware gang leaked Los Angeles student health records online By Reuters

By Suzanne Smalley

(Reuters) – Well being information for about 2,000 present and former Los Angeles college college students have been revealed to the darkish internet following a ransomware assault final yr, the college district stated in a press release on Wednesday.

The “evaluation information,” which might embody psychological well being, attendance, disciplinary and tutorial outcomes, have been stolen in a September 2022 cyber assault, Jack Kelanic, a senior IT administrator for the district, instructed Reuters after an training information web site posted redacted copies of purported scholar psychological well being information on-line.

The assaults have been first broadly reported final yr, however the compromise of delicate well being information solely got here to gentle in current days.

Final yr, Los Angeles College Superintendent Alberto Carvalho stated the Russian ransomware gang Vice Society had claimed duty for the hack and positioned the fabric on-line in October.

Based on The 74, an training targeted information web site, psychological evaluations containing giant quantities of personally identifiable data have been posted on-line about particular training college students, together with their medical histories, tutorial efficiency and disciplinary information.

Ransomware assaults lately have impacted day by day life the world over with hacks of college methods, healthcare suppliers and utilities damaging particular person privateness and unexpectedly costing sufferer corporations and organizations.

Cyber assaults on faculties worsened after the COVID-19 pandemic pressured thousands and thousands of scholars on-line for digital instruction whereas college methods’ know-how infrastructure could not have been prepared.

Los Angeles Unified, the second largest college district in america, stated its investigation is ongoing and that it continues to evaluate the September 2022 cyberattack.

Kelanic instructed Reuters that roughly 2,000 scholar evaluation information “have been confirmed as a part of the assault.” He stated 60 of the impacted college students are at present enrolled and that driver’s license numbers, Social Safety numbers and even constructive COVID-19 outcomes have been compromised as properly.

“Los Angeles Unified takes scholar, household and worker privateness very significantly and has been implementing enhanced protections and procedures to make sure our knowledge safety,” Kelanic stated, including they’ve notified a few of the affected people and distributors.