LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – Some parents told 8 News Now they were stunned to find a threatening email Wednesday morning with their child’s personal information.
Nearly 10 days ago, Clark County Schools notified the public it experienced a cyber hack.
An email 8 News Now can confirm at least two families received stirred frustration with parents when it comes to administrators.
“We’re not getting any information. Apparently, this hack happened October 5th, but we weren’t notified until Monday of last week and now we’re still not getting any information,” Brandi Hecht said.
She has three children enrolled at several CCSD schools. She shared the email that was sent to her inbox at 2 a.m. on Wednesday with 8 News Now.
The email read: “I’m so sorry to tell you this but private information has been leaked. There are over 200,000 student profiles like this which have been leaked by the hackers. Don’t shoot the messenger! You should probably change your information in CCSD systems if that is possible. Be careful out there.”
“As parents, and with the city we live in, we worry about human trafficking,” Hecht said.
The email also included an attachment with a personal profile on her three children, that included photos, student identification numbers, and their home address.
“That’s the biggest concern, I think is that with our children’s pictures. Their demographics and our address. Those things can be sold on the dark web,” Hecht said.
The email did not come from a CCSD address, but it is associated with a school district near Fresno, California. However, 8 News Now could not verify if the person who emailed it works there.
A cybersecurity expert offers advice on how to avoid being a victim.
“It’s just a good idea to create and get into a habit of changing passwords on a periodic basis,” Christopher Warner with GuidePoint Security said.
CCSD did not respond to 8 News Now’s request for comment on the matter.
The district announced on Monday requiring all its students and staff to have their passwords changed by 5 p.m. Wednesday.
