Chicago Public Schools student data part of massive breach Chalkbeat

pSign up for Chalkbeat Chicagoâs free daily newsletter to keep up with the latest news on Chicago Public SchoolsppIn a ransomware attack last year Russian hackers stole private information for more than 700000 current and former Chicago Public Schools students and put it on the dark web district officials said FridayppAccording to the district the hackers gained access to a server where a CPS technology vendor stores student data Using a weakness in the vendorâs software that CPS uses to share data with other agencies the hackers stole information from the district and more than 60 other organizations across the countryppStudentsâ names dates of birth genders and Chicago Public Schools student ID numbers were stolenppâWhile we are still investigating this incident we believe that all current students and all former students dating back to the 20172018 school year were impactedâ the district said in a statementppFor roughly half of the impacted students or about 344000 current and former students Medicaid ID numbers and dates of program eligibility were included in the data breachppThe stolen student information was originally encrypted which the district likened to the hackers stealing a locked briefcase but without the key However district officials confirmed Friday that the hackers were able to break that encryption exposing studentsâ private informationppEvery weekday morning Chalkbeat Chicago is bringing thousands of subscribers the news on local public schools and education policy that they need to start their day Sign up for our free newsletter to join themppBy signing up you agree to our Privacy Notice and European users agree to the data transfer policy You may also receive occasional messages from sponsorsppThe dark web is a part of the internet inaccessible with search engines where illegal activity often takes place The district said it would write to families Friday afternoon to inform them about the breachppThe district said it was never contacted about paying ransom in return for the stolen data A growing number of school districts in recent years have been victims of such data ransomware attacks which have at times exposed sensitive student and employee information Technology news site TechCrunch reported that the Russialinked ransomware gang Clop stole the data from CPS and almost 60 other organizations taking advantage of a bug in software tools from tech company CleoppThe district said Friday it worked with the FBI the Department of Homeland Security the State of Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology and other agencies to investigate the incident Officials stressed that the stolen data did not contain Social Security numbers or financial informationppThe district said it does not have any evidence that any of the stolen information has been misused More information and resources for families are at cpsedudatabreachppMila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicagoâs senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools Contact Mila at mkoumpilovachalkbeatorgppExperts say there are a few big barriers to ICE raids at schools And keeping students at home due to immigration enforcement fears carries its own risksppDenver Public Schools had asked the court to reinstate a previous policy that treated schools as âsensitive locationsâ where immigration enforcement should only take place if there is immediate danger to the public The judge said noppWith measles cases on the rise nationally NYC public health experts are encouraging vaccination against the diseaseppEl aumento de la ayuda a las escuelas públicas de Newark serÃa alrededor de un 6 o 75 millones mÃs que en el actual aÃo fiscalppThe faceoff between the two former classmates at Bayside High School Eric Adams and Adrienne Adams barely registered among graduating seniorsppAfter four hours of debate on Thursday night sponsors said theyâre open to changes to a bill that would require schools to teach financial literacyppThousands of Chicagoans are getting a 3minute rundown of the citys big education stories and statewide policy changes every weekday morning Sign up for Chalkbeat Chicagoâs free newsletter to join them todayppppBy signing up you agree to our Privacy Notice and European users agree to the data transfer policy You may also receive occasional messages from sponsorsppBecome a Chalkbeat sponsorppCHALKBEAT IS A CIVIC NEWS COMPANY NEWSROOM Â2025p