Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) – Teachers and staff felt the brunt of this data breach, with many now worried about their financial futures. While the district is offering credit monitoring, our local <a href="https://bitcomme.com/okta-just-rallied-28-in-a-month-and-cybersecurity-stocks-are-red-hot-now-is-200-coming-soon/” title=”Okta Just Rallied 28% in a Month and Cybersecurity Stocks Are Red-Hot Now. Is $200 Coming Soon?”>cybersecurity expert warns that may not be enough to stop a determined hacker
For the thousands of teachers and staff who returned to work this past Friday, the news from the FBI is particularly grim. While the district says they don’t typically collect social security numbers for students, they admit those numbers for staff were likely exposed.
That means for hackers, teachers are the primary targets. Western Mass News spent the day getting answers from Steve Weisman of scamicide.com on what staff need to do right now. He said once a social security number is on the dark web, it’s often sold to other criminals who use it for identity theft or sophisticated scams.
He warns staff to watch for a “second wave” of attacks. That includes emails or texts that look like they’re from the school district or a credit monitoring service but are actually traps, “I’m from the government. I’m from this organization. I’m here to help you, click on this link, provide this information, make this payment. So, you’re absolutely right. They have to be very, very careful of any communications they get regarding this,” Weisman said.
Weisman said credit monitoring is a good start, but staff should go a step further and freeze their credit with all three major bureaus immediately. He also advises doing a “security inventory.” that means changing passwords on sensitive accounts and confirming any emails about the breach directly with the school department before clicking any links.
Weisman also noted that former employees, and even people who applied for jobs in the past, could be at risk. He said many districts keep that data for years. His best advice for staff right now: freeze your credit, run a security inventory, and assume your data is out there.
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