Waco ISD employee data exposed through security incident

Waco Independent School District’s employee and job applicant data was exposed in a data security incident involving an education software company, according to the district’s news release published Wednesday.

The information exposed nearly two months ago through Frontline Education included Social Security numbers, email addresses and physical addresses of staff and applicants.

It was unclear how many people might have been affected. Waco ISD has 2,000 employees. Waco ISD officials said the Frontline has assured them no student information was exposed, but families will be notified if this changes.

“Protecting your personal information is a top priority for Waco ISD, and we know that news of this event brings understandable concern,” Waco ISD spokesperson Jill Anderson said.

School districts across the state were notified potential exposure of data, including Fort Worth, Crowley, Lubbock and Laredo public school districts, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram , KCBD and school websites. In addition, several school districts in South Carolina were affected, including the exposure of student information, according to WYFF , a news station in South Carolina.

The data security incident occurred Aug. 14 and was discovered and remediated on Aug. 15, according to the district’s notice.

Frontline notified the district of the issues on Oct. 1. Waco ISD notified the public the issue after speaking to Frontline officials this week.

“We will continue pushing Frontline for full transparency, and should any additional details come to light, we will do our part to ensure they are shared with you promptly,” Anderson said.

Here is what to know the breach:

Frontline will begin contacting affected individuals Oct. 26.

Frontline has notified the Texas Attorney General and law enforcement agencies of the incident.

Frontline is partnering with TransUnion to manage this incident and will offer two years of credit monitoring to individuals affected by this incident.

Frontline has established a dedicated hotline at 833-516-8792, available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time, for questions related to this incident.

Frontline will continue to provide updates to Waco ISD regarding the incident and the steps being taken in response.

In addition, the district encourages employees to review the Federal Trade Commission’s Identity Theft guide for step-by-step guidance on protecting personal information.