THE Slate Valley Unified School District in Fair Haven, Vermont, has been contending with a cybersecurity incident since 3 September. The board voted on 29 September not to pay any ransom or extortion demand and authorised the district’s superintendent, in consultation with legal counsel, cybersecurity professionals, the insurer, and law enforcement, to proceed with response and remediation activities.
The district has not stated that student data was definitively compromised, explaining that investigations take time and that information must be shared carefully to avoid compromising the investigation. Kairos threat actors, via DataBreaches, claimed to have exfiltrated 762 GB of information, including 647 GB of SQL databases containing personal and medical information about students and employees, and indicated a countdown to publication on the dark web.
DataBreaches’ review of the material provided by Kairos shows unredacted data relating to current students, including a spreadsheet with 243 entries containing names, dates of birth, parents’ names, home addresses, and home phone numbers, with addresses spanning Benson, Fair Haven, Hubbardton and nearby towns. Some entries reference special education statuses or documents (such as 504 plans and IEPs).
While the spreadsheet did not reveal Social Security numbers, it did include Medicaid-related health coverage notes. In addition, Kairos supplied an unredacted 2026 employee data sheet listing 329 employees’ personal details, including full Social Security numbers, plus spouse and dependent information for 466 people, and an employment benefits file. The leak’s countdown clock suggests data publication was imminent at the time of reporting.
The district’s formal position remains that it cannot yet confirm whether any student data was compromised, though it believes it unlikely for current students.