Hackers obtained Social Security numbers for some district staff in a recent cyberattack, Allen ISD Superintendent Robin Bullock announced in an email Friday afternoon.
It is not yet known if all staff or students had their information exposed.
The district will notify the staff members — and others, if any — whose Social Security numbers were compromised.
The cyberattack on Sept. 20 disrupted district networks, devices and online activities for a day. Since the cyberattack, hackers have attempted to extort the district for millions of dollars, and the district has been trying to deal with the aftermath.
“Last night, our cybersecurity experts obtained a new communication from the criminals that included Social Security numbers of some Allen ISD staff members,” the email Friday said.
The group behind the attack also threatened to release the private information of staff and students to the “dark market” if Allen ISD refuses to pay the extortion amount requested.
The district is working with a firm to provide free credit monitoring for district adults and free identity monitoring for students, as credit monitoring is not available for minors.
Allen ISD will release more information on how to enroll and receive this protection next week, which the district says is the soonest it can provide it.
The district has been working with law enforcement, Bullock says, and is still not planning on paying the extortion demands.
In the meantime, the district encourages the Allen ISD community to proceed with caution if they are contacted by someone requesting information.
”Thank you for your patience as we work through this problem,” the email concluded.
Allen ISD is one of many Texas school districts that have fallen victim to cybersecurity breaches. Last month, Dallas ISD announced that the Social Security numbers of its staff and students may have been exposed.
A recent CBS-11 investigation found that at least 67 Texas school districts have suffered a cybersecurity breach in the last two years.
