Florida warns that 4.9 million people had Social Security numbers leaked in financial aid site breach

Florida warned students that a recent data breach exposed sensitive information — including Social Security numbers and addresses — on nearly 5 million people who have applied for financial aid in the state. 

The state’s Department of Education (FLDOE) said on Thursday it became aware of a data breach involving the Florida Student Financial Aid website on October 19. The information exposed includes names, addresses, phone numbers, genders, email addresses, Social Security numbers and dates of birth. 

“An unauthorized party gained access to a system or database containing company or customer information,” the department said in a statement. “FLDOE is partnering with the Florida Digital Service and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in its response to the event.”

FLDOE has taken the financial aid site down and warned that other department websites and services may experience temporary disruptions. Financial aid for students is not at risk and the breach will not delay aid disbursements or tuition payments. The incident will also not impact scholarships, grants or student loans. 

The state urged those affected to monitor their credit reports and financial accounts for any irregular activity.

The department declined to comment about the nature of the incident or the attackers. The statement says the incident has been contained and was reported to the Office of the Attorney General.

The attack on FLDOE comes just one week after California’s education department announced its own breach involving all children enrolled in the state’s public school system over the last three years. 

The incident is the second large Florida government breach this year, with the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles reporting a data breach perpetrated by a prominent hacking group last month. Members of the group have continued to offer the stolen DMV data for sale on cybercriminal forums throughout October. 

Another large county in central Florida is dealing with significant internet outages after an alleged cyberattack on Wednesday.