Lexington-Richland School District Five announced that personal information, including names, dates of birth, addresses and Social Security numbers from former students, has been posted online in a forum by “threat actors.”

In June, the district detected “unusual network activity” that impacted operations, leading to an investigation. 

After detecting the unusual network activity, the district's technology team began investigating the incident with help from law enforcement and third-party specialists, officials said. The team began restoring the affected files and systems and officials said advanced detection and threat-prevention software has been implemented.

In a statement released on Aug. 15, Superintendent Akil E. Ross said personal information from former students has been released. Those affected will be offered credit monitoring and identity theft protection. These services will also be offered to the current staff in the district, although there is no confirmation their information is at risk, officials say. 

Letters will be sent in the next few weeks and will include instructions and codes for their protection.

The current investigation is ongoing, and individuals will be contacted if the district finds they were impacted by this incident. 

The statement reads: “Finally, it has come to our attention that some non-directory information was obtained without consent. I want to offer our community guidance that includes steps you can take now to protect yourself and your families while our investigation continues. School District 5 encourages individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing their account statements and monitoring their credit reports for suspicious activity. Such suspicious activity should be promptly reported to relevant parties including banking and/or financial institutions. Additionally, our community members are advised to use multifactor authentication ('MFA') on sensitive accounts, use strong passwords and change them regularly, and never click on suspicious emails.”

In addition, the district said it is working closely with local, state and federal authorities, as well as independent experts on this matter.

A virtual town hall will be held on Aug. 26 with a former FBI official to answer any questions. 

“Again, we apologize for any inconvenience,” Ross said. “I know we will emerge a better and stronger school district from this experience.”