Data Breach at Williamson County Schools

In what will be a costly error, more than five thousand students of Williamson County Schools had their personal information posted online. This included their social security numbers, along with their names:

“…Now the county could lose some federal funding because of the mistake. The school district had to notify the Department of Education because this was a federal violation.

They have, at least, narrowed down the students who are affected, so they can start trying to clean up the mess…”

link: School Director Announces Plan To Clean Up Security Problem

This security breach will cost the school district and the county tax payers thousands of dollars to provide these students with credit monitoring. A student data base like this is ideal for an identity theft. The names on the list are people who have no history of poor debt or criminal activity. The social security number associated with the name is all that is necessary to put these students at risk. It seems ironic that these children have to worry about their financial reputation even before they have left school.

Catherine Forsythe