Virginia Student Accesses Computer File With Social Security Numbers of Local Area Students

On May 6th, an Ocean Lakes High School student accessed a computer file on campus computers that had the personal, identifiable information of over 16,000 students in the 22 Virginia Beach area schools, and attempted to print the documents onto the library’s printer. A librarian noticed the printout and contacted the IT department, which immediately took action to protect the files and make them more secure.

The student who accessed the files has not been charged with any criminal activity since the information was never actually used, but he has been reprimanded in other ways by school officials for accessing the files and not notifying a school employee about the unsecured information. He is being punished for unauthorized use of the school’s computer technology.

In the meantime, Virginia Beach school parents are being notified by letter of the May incident involving this student, and are encouraged to monitor their credit reports for any unusual or suspicious activity since the file did reveal the Social Security numbers of the students and personal information that could be used in identity theft, such as birth dates, addresses, and the like. Credit monitoring services and identity theft protection services are highly recommended for any Virginia Beach area parents that are worried about the security of their financial and personal accounts.