The failure of negotiations between the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and ransomware operators (opens in a new tab) The Vice Society Ransomware saw the latter publish a stolen database online.
The news was confirmed by LAUSD Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho, who took to Twitter to announce the leak, with the Board launching a new hotline where parents can learn more about the incident and what the company is doing to help. try to minimize the damage. .
"Unfortunately, as expected, a criminal organization recently released data. In partnership with law enforcement, our experts are looking at the full scope of this data release," the tweet read.
"Better ways to spend money"
News of an attack on LAUSD, which encompasses more than a thousand schools, 26 teachers, and 000 students, first broke in September 600.
But this new leak came after the board said they won't pay any ransom demands because there are so many better ways to spend the money.
“Los Angeles Unified remains adamant that dollars should be used to fund students and education,” the organization said. "Paying a ransom never guarantees full data recovery, and Los Angeles Unified believes it's better to spend public money on our students than capitulate to a nefarious and illicit crime syndicate."
According to BleepingComputer, Vice Society Ransomware stole 500 GB of sensitive data, including folders named "SSN", "Secret and Confidential", "Passport" and "Incident".
A source told NBC Los Angeles that the data also contains "confidential student psychological evaluations, contracts and legal documents, business records" and other data.
LAUSD notified affected students and their parents and offered free credit monitoring services to those in need. As police investigate the leak, students and parents are urged to remain vigilant, as phishing attacks are common after such leaks. Identity theft is also relatively common.
Via: BleepingComputer (Opens in a new tab)