Minneapolis Public Schools sending cyber attack notification letters

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Following a cyber attack and ransom that the district says has affected over 100,000 people, Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) says it is in the process of notifying individuals of their exposed personal information.

The district said 105,500 people whose information was compromised will receive notification letters at their homes within the next two weeks informing individuals

The types of personal information that may have been accessible to hackers include name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, driver’s license number, financial account number, state student number, medical/health information, and health insurance information, according to the district.

In February, MPS faced a deadline after cyber criminals threatened to release the highly sensitive information if the district didn’t pay a $1 million ransom. 

The data was then released on the dark web, an area of the internet that requires special software to access and allows users to be untraceable. 

The same hackers previously released some of the stolen information including personal records of students, parents and staff in the district. One document leaked included an alleged sexual assault with students’ names and victim’s statements.