The Division of Schooling in Victoria, Australia, notified mother and father that attackers accessed a database containing the private data and e-mail addresses of present and former college students, prompting password resets.
The division disclosed the breach in letters despatched to folks, stating that an unauthorized third celebration accessed college students’ names, college names, 12 months ranges, and school-issued e-mail addresses, in addition to encrypted passwords for accounts that use them.
Nonetheless, it mentioned that extra delicate knowledge, comparable to start dates, house addresses, or cellphone numbers, weren’t uncovered within the incident.
Though authorities investigating the breach have but to search out proof suggesting the accessed knowledge has been launched publicly or shared with different events, the division has reset all scholar passwords as a precautionary measure, blocking college students’ entry to highschool accounts till new credentials are issued.
“All scholar passwords have been reset. This implies college students are unable to entry their college accounts. New passwords shall be issued to VCE college students as a precedence. All different college students shall be issued a brand new password at first of the college 12 months,” the division mentioned, based on the letter printed by native media.
“The division has protections in place for scholar e-mail accounts, nevertheless you could want to remind your baby not to answer sudden or unknown emails.”
Whereas the Division of Schooling did not share what number of college students had been affected by the data breach, Victoria’s authorities college system serves roughly 650,000 college students throughout over 1,500 faculties.
It additionally acknowledged that it had taken measures to take away the assault vector that led to the breach and mentioned that additional data on the incident shall be offered when obtainable.
“The Division has recognized the reason for this incident and has put protections in place. They’ll proceed to offer college Principals with updates as we enter the 2026 college 12 months,” it mentioned.
The Victorian Division of Schooling has but to share when the attackers gained entry to the database, when the security breach was found, and if the attackers have demanded a ransom.
BleepingComputer reached out with questions in regards to the incident, however a response was not instantly obtainable.
In December, the College of Sydney additionally disclosed a data breach after hackers breached certainly one of its on-line coding repositories and stole recordsdata containing private data of over 27,000 present and former employees and college students.
It is price range season! Over 300 CISOs and security leaders have shared how they’re planning, spending, and prioritizing for the 12 months forward. This report compiles their insights, permitting readers to benchmark methods, establish rising developments, and evaluate their priorities as they head into 2026.
Learn the way prime leaders are turning funding into measurable affect.
