Suspicious Activity by Malicious Source
Greenville County Schools have had a data theft impacting some of their employees.
The Greenville County Schools’ Education Technology Services (ETS) Security Officer was informed by the Chief Information Officer of the State of South Carolina that the US Department of Homeland Security had identified suspicious activity involving district data.
Unknown to the School District, a malicious program was electronically transmitted into a Benefits Department computer by an outside source. This malicious software was designed to evade security and steal data.
It is understood that numerous government agencies within the state of South Carolina, including Greenville County Schools , were targeted in a similar manner.
As the investigation progressed, the state CIO Security Officer provided the School District ETS Security Officer with a list, which was later updated, with the names of those potentially affected. In each case, the District immediately notified the affected employees and provided them with information presented by the US Department of Homeland Security that will assist them in taking action to protect their personal information. The District is working cooperatively with local law enforcement, the State Law enforcement Division (SLED), and the US Secret Service in an ongoing investigation.
Data theft occurs when a computer is compromised and this activity constitutes a criminal act. Data theft is commonly confused with Identity theft. Identity theft is the unauthorized use of personal identification information to commit fraud or other crimes. There is no indication at this time that an identity theft event has occurred, the District stated in a news release at 5:20 p.m., Thursday, December 20, 2007.
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