NJ school reveals shocking data breach: Kept secret for a year

🖥 Data breach exposed sensitive data of students in Monmouth district

🖥 School officials kept it a secret for over a year

🖥 District refuses to say how many students were affected

A Monmouth County school district hid details about a cyber-attack for over a year. Only now are they revealing student's sensitive personal data was compromised.

Officials at Shore Regional High School District in West Long Branch began notifying families on Friday. On Monday they issued a public statement.

"On or about April 13, 2023, Shore Regional experienced unauthorized access to our network," a statement on the district website reads, "We determined on March 28, 2024, that certain impacted files containing personal information may have been removed from our network by the unauthorized individual(s)."

While the district says they "immediately commenced a prompt and thorough investigation," they did not say why it took over a year to alert parents that their children's personal data may have been compromised.

What data was compromised?

Shore Regional officials say the following data may have been accessed:

Full name
Date of birth
Social Security number
Employee ID
Driver’s license or state identification
Financial information
Medical treatment or diagnosis
Medical and/or health insurance information
Non-directory information

They say not all information was available and/or accessed for all individuals effected.

School officials say their investigation did not turn up any evidence of personal data being misused.

How many students were affected?

The district did not say how many students were affected in the statement issued on Monday and has not returned calls for comment.

Data from the New Jersey Department of Education lists Shore Regional High School District with 573 students in grades 9-12.

It is not clear how many of those students had data compromised.

What happens now?

The school district began notifying affected individuals last Friday with a letter detailing what information may have been compromised as well as resources designed to help protect that information.

"Shore Regional encourages impacted individuals to take actions to help protect their personal information," the statement said, "These actions include
placing a fraud alert and/or security freeze on their credit files, and/or obtaining a free credit report"

In addition, the district says they are "offering complimentary identity monitoring and protection services for individuals whose Social Security number was involved in this
incident."

A dedicated response hotline has been set up for those who have questions about the incident.

You may access the hotline by calling 888-387- 8750, Monday through Friday 9:00 am - 7:00 pm Eastern Time, excluding holidays.

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