Victorian Police and the Victorian Department of Education and Training are looking into an incident at a school east of Melbourne after it was revealed a student gained unauthorised access to the school’s IT network.
The education department alleges the student from Camberwell High School used a staff password to gain access and would have been able to see contact details, medical information, and Medicare card numbers, with some of the information then shared with a small group of students.
“As soon as it became aware of the issue, the school took immediate action to stop the access, and has put steps in place to secure the system including changing relevant passwords,” a spokesperson for the department told ZDNet.
Camberwell High School has also contacted those identified as directly affected by the incident, sent letters out to the whole school community, and set up a call centre dedicated to support families and staff.
“At this stage there is no evidence to suggest any personal information has been shared beyond the school or uploaded to the internet,” the spokesperson added.
The department made a point of highlighting the breach is not linked to one that recently occurred at nearby Blackburn High School, where phishing emails purporting to be from the school’s principal were sent to parents asking for credit card details.
The department said it is also following up with all schools in the state to ensure the situation does not repeat itself elsewhere.
“We wouldn’t describe this as hacking,” the department’s Regional Services deputy secretary Bruce Armstrong told 3AW on Monday morning. “It’s very serious and sensitive information and we can understand why people are distressed.”
The department said it will provide the results of its investigation to Victoria Police.
With AAP
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