LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A release of your and your children’s personal information on the dark web. That’s what hackers are threatening to do to several Clark County School District parents.
One of them is Brandi Hecht who got the first email on Monday.
“It’s very frustrating and scary,” Hecht said.
The email came from a student email at a district in Fresno County, California. It reads: “I’m sorry to tell you but unfortunately, your private information has been leaked.”
The hackers identify themselves as “SingularityMD” and they emailed CCSD about being “in their network for a few months.” But their IT security is a “joke.”
Hecht said the email contained information like her children’s grades, pictures and even medical records.
“I reported that to the district that morning. They told me I would receive a call back. I did not,” Hecht said.
Nata Fudala, a cybersecurity expert who previously worked at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department as a security analyst, said companies need to better protect their online data.
“It really boils down to weak security. If there is a weak security policy in place, this is bound to happen,” Fudala said.
In the email, the hackers said they will release 200,000 student profiles unless the district meets their demand to pay them one-third of the superintendent’s annual salary. They claimed the district forced students to use their birthday as their password for six years.
“Someone should have done an investigation or looked at log files based on the password perimeters they had,” Fudala said.
Hecht said between this incident and recent internet service outage problems, she’s frustrated with the district.
“It’s physically and mentally exhausting,” Hecht said. “Give us more information. Tell us what we can do to protect ourselves and our children. Waiting for a letter is not enough.”
CCSD sent an email to parents on Thursday saying it is cooperating with the FBI investigation into the cybersecurity incident which began on October 5.
Anyone with concerns can call CCSD’s tech desk at 702-799-3300.
