Rhode Island’s largest school district failed to tell students and parents that their private information was obtained by cyberhackers and posted online, according to an investigation by Mark Keierleber for the nonprofit education news site The74, with support from the Fund. Keierleber’s story was also published in the Boston Globe. He reported that a ransomware gang uploaded the private information when the Providence School District refused to pay a $1 million ransom. The files have been online for nearly a month – without parents or students being told about it. Keierleber reported that the files include children’s medical records, as well as files about sexual misconduct complaints involving students, and they include students’ full names. The story is part of Keierleber’s rolling investigation on cyberattacks of school records and discrepancies between what schools tell students, parents and staff and what actually transpired.
Grantee reveals that Rhode Island school district failed to report cyberattack of children’s private information
