SALT LAKE CITY — The security breach that has allowed outside subjects to access personal records of current and former Granite School District students has sparked concerns for many parents.
Although the extent of the damage is not known, cyber expert George Kounalis shared steps on what parents should do next.
“I think this is pretty bad," said Kounalis. "Especially the fact that they’re seeing all student data has been impacted. This could definitely have a big impact on a lot of people.”
Of the student records that were hacked, 15% contained Social Security numbers.
“Depending on who has the information and where this information is, threat actors could potentially take this data, like student Social Security numbers and student data, and use it for fraud or other operations," Kounalis explained. "A lot of bad guys love to use this kind of information to stage future attacks.”
The Granite School District claimed that “an unknown, unauthorized actor gained access to certain computer systems and accessed files restored on those computer systems.”
Below are additional tips on keeping children safe from online security breaches:
Kounalis shared how hackers could utilize the personal information that was stolen.
“They can pretend they’re that student and apply and pretend they’re that student and you know, little 5-year-old Melissa isn’t going to be applying for a home loan or anything like that, but threat actors could use it to open fraudulent accounts, take out fraudulent loans.”
There’s one thing parents should be doing to protect their children.
“I would advise that parents freeze their children’s credit," Kounalis said. "The FTC website actually has information on how you can do that with all three major credit agencies..”
The district is reviewing its policies, procedures, and processes to prevent the likelihood of a similar event in the future, but Kounalis believes officials should go even further.
“I think state government should take a look at this and empower our school districts around cyber security.”
