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The most sensitive information of over a hundred Miami-Dade public school students – including their dates of birth and Social Security numbers – was found floating on the Internet for anyone to find. Tanya Paddyfoot, whose daughter is on the list, spoke about the issue, while the Miami-Dade school district addressed it in a statement released to NBC 6. (Published Thursday, Sep 19, 2013)
Updated at 7:34 PM EDT on Thursday, Sep 19, 2013
The most sensitive information of over a hundred Miami-Dade public school students – including their dates of birth and Social Security numbers – was found floating on the Internet for anyone to find.
The breach was discovered Thursday by NBC 6, which alerted the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Many parents on the list – which could be seen on a website that has since been taken down – say they believe the information was obtained when they applied for specialized education such as magnet programs.
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"It's a long list, and it's like almost seven pages of students from different places, different people, " said Tanya Paddyfoot, whose daughter is on the list.
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When school started this week, 3, 200 new laptops greeted students in Broward County Public Schools and similar initiatives in Miami-Dade are bringing iPads to classrooms. NBC 6's Ari Odzer has the story. (Published Friday, Aug 23, 2013)
In a statement released to NBC 6, the Miami-Dade school district says they “have learned that a well-intentioned employee, who was trying to make it easier for students to apply for available spots in magnet programs, developed an online program to facilitate the application process. He did not use adequate security for the program, which may have left some student information accessible by outside sources. We will be working to assist parents and students who were affected by this action."
That employee works out of Palm Springs Middle School in Hialeah and may have been processing the applications through its student portal.
Paddyfoot said she was able to find her daughter’s personal information through a simple Google search.
"It's scary because you have your children and that's her information, her birthday, her Social Security number's on there, " she says.
Soon after NBC 6 contacted the Miami-Dade School Board, the website with all of the information was taken down. The school district is not yet saying if any actions will be taken against the school employee who developed the online program.