California says a cyberattack on testing contractor Educational Testing Service exposed sensitive data for public school students across the state. The California Department of Education said attackers copied data from an ETS secure file transfer protocol site between May 22 and September 18, 2026, including names, dates of birth, addresses, student identifiers, disability and accommodation data, program eligibility, and in some cases assessment registration and results tied to CAASPP and ELPAC testing.
Why it matters: This affects a very large population of children and former students, and the stolen data includes identity details plus sensitive education and disability information. Schools and families should watch for phishing or identity misuse, while public-sector education teams should review vendor access, file-transfer security, and third-party data handling.
2026.10.20
100% relevant
This article establishes a distinct statewide student-data breach centered on ETS’s role as California’s assessment contractor and the theft of records from its file-transfer environment.
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