ST PAUL, Minn. — Editor's note: The video above first aired on KARE 11 in April 2023.
Another school year, another potential data breach.
St. Paul Public Schools (SPPS) notified students and their families about a recent "data security incident" in a letter Friday, saying the warning comes after a months-long investigation into suspicious activity first discovered in its network last February. District officials said school staff was alerted to the possible breach prior to the first day of school in an effort to prepare teachers for updates to their students' login information.
"In a proactive measure to protect student data, and in recognition of recent school district data breaches in Minnesota and nationwide, all students will receive a new, unique password effective Friday, September 8," the staff email, which was sent out to staff on Aug. 24, said.
First flagging the suspicious network activity in February, the district said Minnesota IT Services, Minnesota Department of Public Safety and FBI officials were called in to assist in the investigation. The district went on to say it wasn't until mid-July that it learned the full extent of the potential breach.
While SPPS said it's not currently aware of any cases of fraudulent misuse of students' private data by a third party at this time, school officials said they're working to put safeguards in place in order to prevent a similar incident in the future. Additionally, officials maintain there's no evidence that sensitive information like students' physical addresses, personal emails, social security numbers or payment information was exposed.
SPPS said a suspect has been "reasonably identified" as the source behind the event, and that the investigation remains ongoing.
This potential breach in St. Paul is just the latest in a trail of similar incidents affecting other educational institutions in Minnesota in recent months, including the Minnesota Department of Education, University of Minnesota, Rochester Public Schools and Minneapolis Public Schools.
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