A group of
hackers
released information from the Los Angeles school district on Saturday after Superintendent Albert Carvalho refused to pay a ransom demanded by hackers.
The Los Angeles Times has accessed images of leaked information that appears to show Social Security numbers.
Carvalho told this outlet that he believed no sensitive employee information had been stolen, but he wasn't sure the hackers didn't have student data, which could include names, grades, schedules, disciplinary records and other details.
The
hackers
appear to be part of the Vice Society group, according to the newspaper.
The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) published a warning about this group after the attack on the school district, without directly confirming that it was responsible for the information theft.
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The group had set a Monday deadline for the school district to pay a ransom in exchange for not posting the stolen data online, but it was released late on Saturday.
The reason seems to be related to the fact that Carvalho publicly announced that no ransom would be paid.
“Paying never guarantees full data recovery, and the district believes that public money is better spent on our students rather than surrendering to a nefarious and illicit crime syndicate,” he noted.
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In its alert, CISA said that the group particularly targets the education sector, from kindergarten to twelfth grade (K-12), with frequent
ransomware
hacks
in
recent years.
“The impacts of these attacks have ranged from the restriction of access to networks and data, the delay of exams, the cancellation of school days and unauthorized access, to the theft of personal information from students and educational personnel,” according to the alert. .
Federal authorities anticipate that the attacks may increase this course, added the alert.
Vice Society is an intrusion, exfiltration and extortion
hacking
group that first appeared in the public sphere in the summer of 2021. The hackers claimed to have stolen more than 500 gigabytes of data from the school district in a hack in September, although the authorities did not confirm it.
Anyone with questions about the cyberattack can call a toll-free number at 855-926-1129. You can follow the Los Angeles School District on their
and
Facebook pages
for updates.
