The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a reported data breach at the Hillsboro R-3 School District. The report claims a school district employee was responsible for the breach and accessed other employees’ work and personal Google accounts, Superintendent Jon Isaacson said.
The person accused of the breach, who has not been named, is no longer employed by the district, Isaacson said.
Grant Bissell, Sheriff’s Office spokesman, said the suspect has not been charged with a crime, but the case is under investigation.
“This was brought to our attention in mid-February, and we believe it had been going on for at least a few months before that,” Bissell said Tuesday (March 3). “Several electronics were seized and computer forensic investigators are working right now to figure out what kind of data was accessed and what was done with it. What we find will determine what kind of charges we pursue.
“Right now, we know of around six victims. But that number could be higher and we’d like anyone who thinks they’ve been a victim to call our Detective Bureau at 636-797-5515.”
Isaacson said district officials reported the incident to the Sheriff’s Office as soon as the breach was discovered.
He said it appeared the person accused of the breach could “link to employees’ personal photos if they’d backed up their pictures using Google Photos and depending how they enabled the settings on their phone.
“Then, if they signed into their personal Gmail accounts at work and stayed logged in, the person had access to their personal Google apps, which included photos they may have taken on a cell phone. The person responsible was able to access personal photos, some of which could be embarrassing, or other photos not intended for others to see.”