A compromised login let an intruder copy sensitive records for current and former California public school students from a file-transfer server used by Educational Testing Service and the California Department of Education. California says the attacker accessed an ETS secure file transfer protocol (SFTP) site at various times from May 22 to September 18, 2026, with unauthorized activity detected on September 25. Exposed data can include names, birth dates, addresses, school details, student ID numbers, demographic data, disability and accommodation status, English learner information, and test records; Social Security numbers and payment data were not included.
Why it matters: This affects a very large population, potentially including more than 5.7 million students plus former students whose records remained in state systems. Schools, families, and defenders should treat this as a high-impact credential-compromise breach, watch for identity misuse or targeted scams, and review any connected file-transfer and partner-access controls.
Eduard Kovacs
2026.10.19
100% relevant
This article appears to be the first tracked report of the California student-record breach tied to compromised credentials on ETS's SFTP environment.
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