BROOKFIELD — The School District of Elmbrook announced Thursday it has been targeted by a cyberattack as the new school year begins.
According to a letter sent to district families, employees' personal information and student educational records were posted on the dark web.
On Aug. 23, the district said it detected unauthorized access to a limited portion of its network, prompting an investigation with several expert resources, including the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
The letter says the district learned a "limited amount of Elmbrook data was posted on the dark web." The district said this is typically done to extort money from the victim organization.
"In our case, no such ransom was requested and the District never engaged with this external threat actor," the letter said.
The posted data is mostly personal information of district employees and their dependents, the district said. As of Thursday, there is no evidence any staff information was misused. The district also has taken "several actions" to protect staff.
"This includes offering impacted staff a complimentary, one-year membership of Experian IdentityWorks Credit Monitoring along with a hotline number for support questions related to this data exfiltration," the letter said.
The district also announced a "limited amount" of student educational records were posted to the dark web. It does not include social security numbers, and the district's Infinite Campus Student Information System was not compromised.
The district said it is working to notify current and former students and their families.
The same organization, Vice Society, that claimed to have targeted Elmbrook Schools was associated with a recent cyberattack on the Los Angeles Public Schools, the second largest school district in the country. The organization was also highlighted Monday in a ransomware warning to school districts by the FBI.
You can read the district's full letter to families below:
