Florida warns that 4.9 million people had Social Security numbers leaked in financial aid site breach

What happened

FLDOE has taken the financial aid site down and warned that other department websites and services may experience temporary disruptions. Financial aid for students is not at risk and the breach will not delay aid disbursements or tuition payments.

The state’s Department of Education (FLDOE) said on Thursday it became aware of a data breach (an incident in which data leaves an organisation without permission) involving the Florida Student Financial Aid website on October 19. The information exposed contains names, addresses, phone numbers, genders, email addresses, Social Security numbers and dates of birth.

“An unauthorized party gained access to a system or database containing company or customer information,” the department said in a statement. “FLDOE is partnering with the Florida Digital Service and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in its response to the event.”

The state urged those affected to monitor their credit reports and financial accounts for any irregular activity. The department declined to comment about the nature of the incident or the attackers. The statement says the incident has been contained and was reported to the Office of the Attorney General.