ALLEN, Texas — Editors note: The video above is from a report on Sept. 29, 2021.
The Allen Independent School District is now taking additional steps to protect student and staff information as it continues to deal with a cybersecurity incident officials said Friday.
Hackers claimed they downloaded the personal information of students, families and staff during a cyberattack on Sept. 20.
In a letter to parents and staff Friday, Superintendent Robin Bullock said the district's cybersecurity experts received a message from the alleged hackers that contained social security numbers of some staff members.
In response, Bullock told parents and staff that the district will now be providing credit monitoring for adults and identity monitoring for students at no cost. Credit monitoring is not available for minors, Bullock said.
"This incident has obviously and understandably caused anxiety and concern. While we don’t yet know how many people may have been affected, we are providing protection out of an abundance of caution," Bullock said in Friday's letter.
Information on how to obtain the monitoring protection will be sent out to families and staff as soon as possible next week, according to Bullock.
District officials have said the hackers are trying to extort Allen ISD for millions of dollars but that the district is not planning to pay the ransom based on guidance from cybersecurity experts and law enforcement.
Allen ISD learned of the attack when the district's network went out in late September, which impacted WiFi, printers and phones.
Bullock said Friday that most of the system has since been brought back.