Breach exposed data of Edmonds schools’ staff, students and parents

SEATTLE – An unauthorized party had the ability to view personal information of certain staff, students and parents from the Edmonds School District for two weeks in January, according to the school district.

The district disabled internet access Jan. 31, reporting “suspicious activities,” but offered no other details.

School started two hours late the next day after students and staff could not access internet services. The district said passwords were reset, which “significantly mitigated additional potential security issues.”

Friday, the district said an ongoing investigation with forensic specialists revealed that an “unauthorized actor” had the ability to “view and acquire certain information” on the district’s network between Jan. 16 and 31.

The type of information that may have been exposed includes names, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, dates of birth, student identification numbers, financial and medical information, and student records, the district said.

The district said it is unaware of any misuses of information following the incident and is still determining which individuals were impacted. Once its review is complete, the district plans to mail letters to individuals whose information could have been compromised.

In the meantime, the district is encouraging people to stay vigilant over identity theft by reviewing account statements and monitoring credit reports for suspicious activity. The district said individuals can also place a “fraud alert” on a credit card or a “credit freeze” on a credit report.

“While this review is still ongoing, Edmonds wanted to inform potentially affected individuals as soon as possible so that they could take affirmative steps to protect their information should they deem it appropriate to do so,” the district said in a news release.