Florida Department of Education reports data breach affecting 4.9 million people

The Florida Department of Education has issued a warning regarding a data breach involving unauthorized criminal access to its student financial aid website, FloridaStudentFinancialAid.org. The incident, which was discovered on October 19, potentially compromises the personally identifiable information of approximately 4.9 million individuals.

Compromised data includes sensitive information such as Social Security numbers. While the breach has impacted the security of personal data, officials stated that state-provided financial aid disbursements and eligibility remain unaffected. The department has activated cybersecurity response protocols to contain the incident and secure its systems.

Due to the ongoing response, the financial aid portal may experience service disruptions. The department is urging affected families to monitor financial accounts for suspicious activity, review credit reports, and consider placing fraud alerts or credit freezes with major credit bureaus.