Florida officials say the Florida financial aid breach may have affected about 4.9 million people who previously applied for aid in the state. The Florida Department of Education says the incident involved unauthorized criminal access to information associated with the Florida Student Financial Aid website, and that Social Security numbers may be among the data exposed.
The estimate is not a confirmed count of people whose Social Security numbers were exposed. In its breach notice, FLDOE says not all individuals were necessarily affected and that the information involved varies by person. The supplied reports do not state how many people had Social Security numbers exposed.
What was exposed in the Florida financial aid breach?
FLDOE says the potentially exposed information may include first and last names, dates of birth, home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, Social Security numbers and M/F gender-identification codes. People who previously applied for financial aid in Florida may have been affected, according to the department.
DOE staff became aware of the incident on October 19. At the time of its notice, FLDOE said it believed the breach was limited to the Florida Student Financial Aid website, FloridaStudentFinancialAidSG.org. WCTV reported that FLDOE believed the same limitation applied at that point in the investigation.
The department says it activated its cybersecurity response after identifying the threat, acted to stop the unauthorized activity, and took steps to contain the incident and secure its systems. It has notified the Office of the Attorney General as required by Florida law and is working with the Florida Digital Service and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Law enforcement has been notified, and FLDOE describes the matter as an ongoing criminal investigation. The Record reported that the department did not comment on the nature of the incident or the attackers.
Will the breach affect Florida financial-aid payments?
FLDOE says current financial aid is not at risk. It says the incident will not delay state aid disbursements or tuition payments, and will not change eligibility for FLDOE scholarships, grants or student loans.
Some department websites and online services may experience temporary disruption while systems are restored. That is a service issue, not an announced change to aid awards or eligibility.
What should prior Florida aid applicants do?
FLDOE recommends that people who previously applied for financial aid in Florida watch financial and online accounts for suspicious activity and review account statements and credit reports regularly. The agency also advises considering a fraud alert or credit freeze with the major credit bureaus.
- Free credit reports are available through AnnualCreditReport.com or by calling 1-877-322-8228, according to FLDOE.
- The department points people to the Federal Trade Commission's identity-theft resources at identitytheft.gov/databreach.
- Questions can be sent to FLDOE at [email protected].
FLDOE says its findings may change as investigators verify more details.
This story draws on original reporting from The Record.
