This content was created by Robert Siciliano. This content was uploaded by Robert Siciliano. This is a YouTube clip titled "School Districts Data Hacked and Held For Ransom" (posted 2017-10-23) containing an English interview-style segment—appearing to be a news/business show—between a host (labeled SPEAKER A) and cybersecurity expert Robert Siciliano. They discuss a U.S. Department of Education warning and a wave of ransomware/ data-theft attacks on K–12 school districts and colleges: hackers stealing student data (including Social Security numbers), extorting districts, and sometimes releasing records or using stolen info to open phony bank/credit accounts. Specific ransom examples cited include Los Angeles Valley College ($28,000), Dorchester School District (~$3,000), and Horry County (~$10,000). Siciliano (noted as affiliated with Hotspot/Hotspot Shield in the exchange) explains schools’ lax security, the need for basic IT security investments and staffing, and urges parents/districts to take action.
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This story, the U.S. Department of Education warning the nation's school districts that, you know what, you're under attack by hackers. Goes from kindergartens up through high school. A new report says hackers are trying to steal student data and more. The hackers demanding ransom money are also going to release stolen private records to do things like shame students. They've even been stealing the students' information to set up things like phony bank accounts and more. Cyber thieves striking more than 3 dozen school systems from Georgia to California so far this year. Stealing paychecks and data, taking over networks to extort money. We gotta bring in one of the best cyber pros around. He is Robert Siciliano. He joins me now. Wow, what a story, Robert. Now our kids are at risk, right?
Yeah, the fact that they're targeting school districts means that they are going after child's or children's Social Security numbers. Just like you and I can apply for credit using our social, you know, 18 and above, a bad guy can take the child's social and they can apply for credit as well, and the parents or the child will not know about it until the kid turns 18 and then is denied credit as a result of the mischief of the identity thieves.
Holy Toledo! And Robert, a lot of money at stake. Look at this. Los Angeles Valley College in California, they paid $28 grand in ransom to hackers back in January. And in South Carolina, the Dorchester School District shelled out nearly $3,000. I mean, a lot of schools are paying out a lot of money. $10,000 in the Horry County School District in South Carolina. What's going on here? Why aren't these students protected? Why aren't the computer systems protected?
So you have school districts that have lax security. They simply do not have the infrastructure necessary to protect the information in which they are responsible for. Instead, they're just paying the ransom, which is, you know, totally backass, right? That being said, they have to make sure that they have the systems properly secured up front. They have to have the IT security professionals come in and put necessary hardware and software in place, layers of protection, to make sure that that doesn't happen in the future. It's not that complicated. They just have to make simple investments and have have the right staff on board to make it happen.
I mean, listen, we pay so much money in property taxes, right? I mean, and now our students are in danger. I think parents should be— they should sit up and take notice about this and maybe go to the school district and say, you know what, what are you doing, right?
Very simply, they have their priorities backwards. If they were to hire security companies, there's plenty of talented security companies in every part of the country to come in and, you know, lease their technologies to make sure that their net networks and their databases are properly protected, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
All right, Robert Siciliano, one of the best cyber pros, if not the best cyber experts around. Thanks for coming on. We really want you back. You're with the company called Hotshield, I think.
Hotspot Shield. Thank you so much.
Thank you, Robert. Good stuff. We've got some big interviews on Fox Business this week. The details are next. Don't go away.
