Hackers stole US school data. The district left teachers in the dark

Ransomware can wreak havoc: Financial institutions flagged almost US$1.2bil (RM5.33bil) in likely ransomware-related payments in 2021 alone, according to the US Treasury Department. Many cases go unreported, so the actual number may be higher. — Image by Freepik

Classrooms across Tucson, Arizona, were ravaged by ransomware in January that locked up computer systems and forced teachers to revamp lesson plans. Officials in southern Arizona’s largest school district tried assuring students and staff for weeks that, despite the cyberattack, sensitive data wasn’t stolen.

But Bloomberg News found that cybercriminals made off with gigabytes of files, containing tens of thousands of current and former employees’ Social Security numbers and other confidential records. They then uploaded the information in February to the dark web for anyone to access with an easily downloadable browser. The data were still accessible as recently as April 17.