AN investigation reported by DataBreaches[.]net reveals that personal information belonging to millions of California students was exposed in a breach affecting the non-profit organisation that contracts with the state’s Department of Education. The Education Testing Service (ETS), which administers statewide exams such as the Smarter Balanced assessment and English proficiency tests, was the target.
Officials say an unauthorized party gained access using a compromised login credential and copied files containing student data over a period from 22 May to 18 September. The breach impacts roughly 7 million students who were enrolled in California public schools over the past three school years.
The California Department of Education (CDE) confirms that the compromised data includes names, addresses, demographic details and disability status. It is not stated whether other data such as test scores or social security numbers were involved. Politico is cited by the reporting outlet as providing coverage of the incident.
At present, there is no public information within the provided article about specific remediation steps, notification timelines, or measures ETS and CDE plan to implement to prevent recurrence. Readers should await official updates from the CDE and ETS for guidance on affected individuals and any recommended protective actions.