Imagine getting an email one morning from your child’s school. You expect a teacher to tell you about missed homework or a signed release form that’s late. But when you open it, your skin crawls. 

Your school informs you that hackers stole your child’s lunch balance, locker combination number and even their medical alert status.

Many parents learned just that last month, when PowerSchool, a software provider popular at K-12 schools, was the target of a data breach that affected many school districts in the U.S. and in other countries. According to the article, “names, addresses, birth dates and Social Security numbers, of adults and children, were among the information hackers obtained using a user's credentials to log into a customer service portal.” (Read the full story.)

To combat such events, Minnesota IT (MNIT) Services has set information technology policies and standards that protect the people, systems and data that help the business of government run. The policies and standards were developed with an eye toward legal and regulatory obligations, industry standards and the needs of the state. You can find the policies and standards on this webpage. 

Data Privacy Day is Jan. 28. Observed internationally, this day is meant to educate us on how to safeguard our data by reviewing our online habits and staying informed about our rights and responsibilities when it comes to data privacy.

The extent of data privacy concerns is growing

As technology and data collection methods have advanced, the scope of privacy concerns has expanded. These concerns include:

• Data breaches, where sensitive information is exposed or stolen.
• Identity theft, where someone's personal details are used for fraudulent activities.
• The ethical use of data, which involves how companies collect, store, and utilize personal information.

In the PowerSchool article, the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind reported data tapped in the breach included “students' lunch balances, free and reduced meal statuses, and their locker numbers and combinations.” Information about students with medical alerts was also pulled. Another school reported Social Security numbers and birth dates of staff were vulnerable during the incident. 

Understanding this broad range of issues is important because it highlights the impact privacy has on the various aspects of our lives. It’s also an essential part of our roles and responsibilities at the state to follow MNIT policies and standards, whether as an employee, vendor or contractor.

Other things to consider for state employees and Minnesota residents

Every time we engage with the internet, whether through social media, online shopping, or browsing, we leave behind traces of information known as "digital breadcrumbs." These bits of data can include our browsing habits, purchasing history, location, preferences and even more intimate details such as our conversations or health-related information. When aggregated and analyzed, these breadcrumbs can create a detailed, and sometimes unsettling, profile of who we are.

Securing your data is no longer just about keeping hackers at bay; it's about understanding the full scope of how your information is collected and the long-term impact it can have on your life, both online and offline. Taking steps to safeguard your privacy is becoming a critical responsibility for both individuals and society as a whole.

How to protect yourself:

• Practice good cyber hygiene by using strong, unique passwords.
• Enable multi-factor authentication.
• Keep your personal and work email separate.
• Be cautious about clicking on suspicious links in texts or emails.
• Regularly update your software.
• Monitor your credit report.
• Avoid sharing sensitive personal information online, especially on social media or to anyone suspicious.

You can find helpful resources, additional tips and more about Data Privacy Day in the links below:

• Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency webpage
• The National Cybersecurity Alliance webpage

 

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