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Hacker Accessed Personal Data of Millions of California Students Through Testing Contractor, State Says

The California Department of Education said Friday that a hacker copied student data including names, birth dates, addresses and disability status from a nonprofit testing contractor's systems, affecting students enrolled in the past three school years.

By admin Oct. 17, 2026 · 12:44 PM ET 2 min read

An empty classroom with rows of wooden desks and chairs and an American flag beside large sunlit windows

The California Department of Education said Friday that a hacker accessed personal data belonging to millions of public school students by exploiting the computer systems of a nonprofit contractor that works with the state.

The department said the hacker copied the data of “all students enrolled in the three previous school years.” More than 5.7 million students were enrolled in California public schools during the 2025-2026 school year, according to the department.

The contractor, Educational Testing Service, began notifying students and their families on Friday. The breach was identified late last month but had been going on since May, the education department said.

Breach went on for months

An empty school hallway lined with rows of blue metal lockers under fluorescent lights

The nonprofit detected the breach on September 25 on a secure file transfer site and opened an investigation, according to the department.

“The investigation determined that an unauthorized party used a compromised login credential to access the site and copy files containing California student information at various times between May 22 and September 18, 2026,” the department said.

The stolen data includes names, birth dates, addresses and disability status. The department said Educational Testing Service has not found any sign the information has been made public so far, and that Social Security numbers and sensitive financial information were not accessed.

A closed laptop, smartphone and notebook on a wooden desk lit by a warm lamp at night

In California, Educational Testing Service administers statewide assessments, including English language proficiency tests.

Contractor says safeguards added

In an October 2 letter to county and district school officials, the California agency said the testing service had stopped “normal enrollment data processing.”

“The CDE is actively working to minimize disruption and resume affected assessment activities in a timely manner,” the department said.

Rows of server racks with blue and green indicator lights inside a dark data center corridor

Educational Testing Service said in a statement to Reuters that it has added monitoring, tightened access controls and ordered an outside review of its security practices since the breach. “Our priority remains the students, families and educators we serve and safeguarding the assessment programs we deliver for our clients and partners globally,” the nonprofit said.

Reporting based on coverage by Reuters via 710 AM WDSM.

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