Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Dear PGCPS Community,
As many of you know, Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) experienced a cyber-attack and data breach just before the start of this school year, on August 14, 2023. PGCPS immediately provided credit monitoring for all students and staff. Since that time, outside cybersecurity and cyber forensic specialists have been analyzing the incident to identify what PGCPS data–beyond usernames and passwords–was compromised. PGCPS recently determined that personally identifiable information (PII) for employees, some students, and other individuals previously affiliated with PGCPS, was involved in the data breach. PGCPS announced that notification letters have been mailed today, Friday, February 16, 2024, to employees and students’ families affected by the incident. This notice is intended to provide the same information included in the notification letters to individuals for whom PGCPS has insufficient or out-of-date contact information, including former employees, past job applicants, and other individuals who have conducted business with PGCPS.
As you may be aware, on August 14, 2023, we discovered a data security incident that impacted our computer systems and caused a temporary disruption to certain operations. We immediately responded and launched an investigation with outside forensic specialists to confirm the nature and scope of the incident and restore impacted computer systems to operability. The investigation discovered that in addition to usernames and passwords previously identified as impacted, that an unauthorized actor accessed our systems and likely viewed or acquired data containing certain information between August 3, 2023 and August 14, 2023. We then performed a comprehensive review of the impacted data to determine whether it contained sensitive information and to whom it relates. We recently concluded our review and determined on or around January 16, 2024, that information related to certain individuals was included in the impacted data set. After determining the scope of information in the impacted files, we undertook efforts to locate address information for the affected individuals, put resources in place to assist, and provide this direct notice.
The information present in the files that may have been viewed or acquired as a result of this incident varies per person, and includes individuals’ name, medical information, health insurance information, Social Security number, driver’s license number, financial account number, and passport number.
We treat our responsibility to safeguard the information entrusted to us as an utmost priority. As such, we responded immediately to this incident and have been working diligently to provide you with an accurate and complete notice of the incident. We have also implemented additional processes and procedures to help prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. As an added precaution, we are providing you with the opportunity to enroll in complimentary credit monitoring and identity restoration services through Experian. Please note that if you have already enrolled in the credit monitoring service provided, re-enrolling will require setting up a separate profile. Although we are covering the cost of these services, due to privacy restrictions, you will need to complete the activation process yourself using the enrollment instructions included within the enclosure to the letter we will be mailing to you, or by calling our dedicated assistance line below to connect with Experian.
We are mailing a notice letter to individuals whose information was determined to be in the affected files, for whom we have a valid mailing address. If an individual does not receive a letter but would like to know if they are affected, they may call our dedicated assistance line, detailed below.
We encourage you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing your account statements regularly and monitoring your free credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors.
Under U.S. law, a consumer is entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. To order a free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. Consumers may also directly contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below to request a free copy of their credit report.
Consumers have the right to place an initial or extended “fraud alert” on a credit file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a 1-year alert that is placed on a consumer’s credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer’s credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer’s identity before extending new credit. If consumers are the victim of identity theft, they are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years. Should consumers wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any of the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below.
As an alternative to a fraud alert, consumers have the right to place a “credit freeze” on a credit report, which will prohibit a credit bureau from releasing information in the credit report without the consumer’s express authorization. The credit freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in a consumer’s name without consent. However, consumers should be aware that using a credit freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in their credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application they make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, consumers cannot be charged to place or lift a credit freeze on their credit report. To request a credit freeze, individuals may need to provide some or all of the following information:
Should consumers wish to place a credit freeze or fraud alert, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:
|
Equifax |
Experian |
TransUnion |
|
1-888-298-0045 |
1-888-397-3742 |
1-800-916-8800 |
|
Equifax Fraud Alert, |
Experian Fraud Alert, |
TransUnion Fraud Alert, |
|
Equifax Credit Freeze, |
Experian Credit Freeze, |
TransUnion Credit Freeze, |
Consumers may further educate themselves regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps they can take to protect your personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or their state Attorney General. The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. Consumers can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. Consumers have the right to file a police report if they ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, consumers will likely need to provide some proof that they have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and the relevant state Attorney General.
For District of Columbia residents, the District of Columbia Attorney General may be contacted at: 400 6th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001; 202-727-3400; and oag.dc.gov.
For Maryland residents, the Maryland Attorney General may be contacted at: 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; 1-410-576-6300 or 1-888-743-0023; and https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/. You may write to PGCPS at 1401 School Lane, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772.
We understand you may have questions about this incident. To ensure your questions are answered in a timely manner, please call our dedicated assistance line at 833-918-1251, Monday through Friday from 9AM to 11PM EST, and Saturday and Sunday from 11AM to 8PM EST, excluding U.S. holidays.
