On June 6, 2023, Pearland Independent School District (“Pearland ISD”) filed a notice of data breach with the Maine Attorney General after learning that confidential information stored on the district’s computer system was accessed by an unauthorized party. Based on the company’s official filing, the incident resulted in an unauthorized party gaining access to consumers’ names, dates of birth, addresses, and Social Security numbers. After confirming that consumer data was leaked, Pearland ISD began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals who were impacted by the recent data security incident.
If you received a data breach notification from Pearland Independent School District, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. School districts like Pearland ISD have a wealth of confidential information in their possession, and districts must exercise care in how they maintain this data. This is especially the case in today’s society, where hackers are constantly looking for organizations with weak data security systems. To learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft and what your legal options are in the wake of the Pearland School District data breach, please see our recent piece on the topic here.
What We Know So Far About the Pearland School District Breach
News of the Pearland School District data breach is still fresh; however, what we know at this point comes from the company’s filing with the Maine Attorney General. According to this source, on November 8, 2022, Pearland ISD detected unusual activity within its computer network. In response, Pearland ISD secured its system and then began an investigation with the assistance of independent cybersecurity experts.
On April 18, 2023, the Pearland ISD investigation confirmed that certain information contained on its IT network was accessed and acquired by an unauthorized party. It was later determined that some of the compromised files contained confidential information related to various people associated with the district.
Upon discovering that sensitive consumer data was made available to an unauthorized party, Pearland School District began to review the affected files to determine what information was compromised and which consumers were impacted. Pearland ISD completed this process on May 18, 2023. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your name, date of birth, address, and Social Security number.
On June 6, 2023, Pearland School District sent out data breach letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident.
More Information About Pearland Independent School District
Pearland Independent School District is a school district in Pearland, Texas. Pearland ISD encompasses 23 campuses, employing 1,339 teachers and educating more than 21,000 students each year. Pearland School District employs more than 1,771 people and generates approximately $144 million in annual revenue.