- Hackers released a cache of data stolen during a cyberattack against the Los Angeles Unified School District, seen as the most significant education breach in recent years.
- Vice Society, a Russian-speaking group known for targeting schools and the education sector, claimed responsibility for the ransomware attack last month, TechCrunch reports.
- The hack disrupted the LAUSD’s access to email, computer systems and applications and published the data stolen from the school district over the weekend.
- The group had previously set an Oct. 4 deadline to pay an unspecified ransom demand.
- The hackers posted the stolen data to Vice Society’s dark web leak site and appeared to contain personal identifying information, including passport details, Social Security numbers and tax forms.
- The published data also contained confidential information, including contract and legal documents, financial reports containing bank account details and health information.
- The LAUSD reportedly lost 500GB of files.
- Just hours before the public release of the stolen data, LAUSD confirmed it would not pay Vice Society’s undisclosed ransom demand.
- LAUSD is the second largest district in the U.S., with more than 1,000 schools and 600,000 students.
- According to a threat analyst, the Vice Society ransomware gang has attacked at least eight other U.S. school districts, colleges and universities in 2022.
- The CISA and FBI previously warned the gang, saying Vice Society disproportionately targeted the education sector with ransomware attacks.
- Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL)-owned Google researchers found growing evidence of pro-Russian hackers and online activists working with the country’s military intelligence agency.
- Russia reportedly sought China’s military ​equipment to ​support its invasion of Ukraine.
- Uber Technologies, Inc (NYSE:UBER) held the Lapsus$ group responsible for its recent hack, forcing it to shut down some internal systems temporarily.
- Lapsus$ was held responsible for the hacks of Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) and the recent attack on game developer Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc (NASDAQ:TTWO)-owned Rockstar Games.
