Hackers Are Releasing Data On Thousands Of School Students
Hackers have targets Los Angeles Unified School District and leaked student records and information online
School hackers are taking aim at Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second largest school district in the United States. After hackers set their sites on ruining weddings and top companies, it seems like no type of organization is safe.
According to The Verge, sensitive info from LASUSD’s student files began to leak online over the Labor Day break. Although the school’s superintendent tried to put some positive vibes out there by tweeting that personal info was not leaked, it seems he tweeted too soon as school hackers leaked social security numbers and names.
Vice Society–a group of school hackers who like to target K-12 schools has published names, social security numbers, passport info, and even health information on its site located on the dark web. The dark web is a part of the internet that is only accessible by special software and is completely anonymous and untraceable.
Reportedly, the school will not comply with the school hackers’ demands as directed by federal agencies. The country has not, nor will ever, “negotiate or cooperate with terrorists.” But, sometimes, it does become necessary.
The US and the UK try to follow the adage as close as possible, as other counties will negotiate. US and UK believe that negotiating with terrorists is morally reprehensive and can only encourage more illegal activity similar to the school hackers’ actions.
Although some countries will engage in communication with terrorists, there is little data to show that engaging in discussion will deter further hits. Countries like Spain and France have engaged in discussions with terrorists, but cyber terrorism is new territory. Dealing with school hackers is brand new and this could be somewhat precedent setting for future issues.
Cyber security has become one of President Biden’s priorities during his administration. The Department of Homeland Security has broken down its path on how to counterattack known criminals into sprints, or chunks of time to focus on issues. There are six sprints ranging in topics like “Cyber Security Workforce” and “Ransomware” of which the school hackers incident would fall.
In recent news, it appears an invisible war is being waged in the bowls of the dark web. As Tell Me Best reported, one person set out to seek revenge on North Korea after being the target of spy activity, so he shut down their internet. The hacker said that he had no choice but to retaliate. Hopefully, the DHS can help assist with these types of battles that people are engaging in.
When cybercriminals try to steal documents from companies that contain credit card information, the public tends to look the other way and just hope it doesn’t happen to them. These days, it’s just the cost of doing business and something you have to endure if you’re going to have any kind of digital footprint at all. However, when it happens to children from school hackers and patients from those who hack hospitals, it’s a hard pill to swallow.
Recently, Microsoft has started to fight back and issued a court order in an effort to gather more information and get actual names. Malware is used to infiltrate websites and domains and then ransomware is generated from it targeting hospitals and schools. Microsoft was able to get a name of a school hacker. We don’t know if it was one from the group that targeted LAUSD.
