Educational Testing Service data breach affects millions of California students

A significant data breach at the Educational Testing Service (ETS), the contractor responsible for California's statewide assessments, has exposed the personal information of millions of current and former public school students. The breach occurred between May 22 and September 18, when an unauthorized individual used weakened login credentials to access a secure file transfer protocol site used for exchanging student assessment data.

According to the California Department of Education, the exposed information includes names, addresses, demographic details, birth dates, assessment information, and certain disability-related data. State officials noted that Social Security numbers, financial information, and passwords were not involved in the incident.

In response, ETS has taken the affected file transfer site offline and is working with law enforcement and cybersecurity experts. The organization is offering two years of complimentary identity protection services through Experian to affected students. Meanwhile, ETS faces a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging inadequate safeguards, and the California Department of Education is reviewing the company's compliance with data-security requirements.