Hackers Leak LA Kids’ Mental Health Records, Taunt Victims
March 1, 2023 – Published on Bloomberg
Families of students in Los Angeles are learning this week that their kids’ medical records are appearing on the dark web thanks to a notorious ransomware crew that’s extorting academic institutions.
Kids’ medical and mental health records, in addition to 2,000 student assessments, driver’s license numbers and Social Security numbers, were published after a breach last year at the Los Angeles Unified School District, said Jack Kelanic, senior IT infrastructure administrator. The district is the second-largest in the nation, with more than 600,000 pupils in 1,000 schools.
It’s the latest development in an ongoing investigation after the hacking gang Vice Society breached the district in September.
Members seem to particularly relish bullying schools, emergency services and local governments, with the US warning in September that groups like Vice Society could disrupt school openings by leveraging known software flaws for their own gain. While most ransomware attacks subside within a few days or weeks, the group is publishing sensitive details about students — months after their school was breached.
The gang’s website also seeks to embarrass victims by including pictures accompanied by taunting messages. In other hacks, Vice Society has published passport images belonging to teachers and students. It’s not clear if the group has posted pictures from the Los Angeles district breach.
Schools are such a ripe target for hackers because any incident is likely to have an immediate impact and involve sensitive information, two factors that are likely to increase the pressure on a victim to pay, says Mark Lance, vice president at GuidePoint Security. Other ransomware groups usually don’t focus on individual victims’ records because they’re too busy trying to gather larger extortion payments from Fortune 500 firms, Lance added.
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