Florida Department of Education hack exposes student Social Security numbers

The Florida Department of Education confirmed that hackers gained unauthorized access to its student financial aid website, compromising personal information including Social Security numbers, WKMG News 6 ClickOrlando reported.

Department staff discovered the breach on October 19 and immediately activated cybersecurity response protocols to stop the unauthorized activity, contain the incident, and secure their system, according to WKMG.

Officials stated that current financial aid disbursements, tuition payments, scholarships, grants, and student loan eligibility will not be affected by the breach, WKMG added.

The department has notified the Florida Attorney General's Office and is working with the Florida Digital Service and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as part of its ongoing response, WKMG reported.

The department urges those potentially affected to monitor their financial and online accounts for suspicious activity, review account statements and credit reports regularly, and consider placing fraud alerts or credit freezes with the major credit bureaus, WKMG noted.

Students with questions can contact the Florida Department of Education directly or check for updates online, WKMG said. The investigation remains active with more details to be released as verified.