Florida’s Department of Education (FLDOE) has warned that a data breach involving the Florida Student Financial Aid website exposed sensitive personal information on approximately 4.9 million people who applied for financial aid in the state.

The department said it became aware of the breach on October 19. Exposed data includes names, addresses, phone numbers, genders, email addresses, Social Security numbers and dates of birth.

“An unauthorized party gained access to a system or database containing company or customer information,” FLDOE said in a statement. The agency is working with the Florida Digital Service and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on its response.

FLDOE has taken the financial aid website offline and warned that other department websites and services may face temporary disruptions as a result. The department said the incident has been contained and was reported to the Office of the Attorney General.

FLDOE declined to comment on the nature of the incident or identify any attackers involved.

No Impact on Aid Disbursements

The department emphasized that financial aid for students is not at risk. The breach will not delay aid disbursements or tuition payments, and it will not affect scholarships, grants or student loans.

The state is urging affected individuals to monitor their credit reports and financial accounts for signs of fraudulent activity.

Part of a Broader Pattern

The breach is the second major Florida government data incident this year. Last month, the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles disclosed a breach attributed to a prominent hacking group, whose members have continued advertising the stolen DMV data on cybercriminal forums throughout October.

Separately, a large county in central Florida has been dealing with significant internet outages following an alleged cyberattack this week.

The FLDOE breach also follows a similar incident disclosed roughly a week earlier by California’s education department, which affected all children enrolled in the state’s public school system over the past three years.

  • Exposed data: names, addresses, phone numbers, genders, emails, Social Security numbers, dates of birth
  • Scale: approximately 4.9 million people
  • Status: contained, affected site taken offline, reported to the Attorney General’s office