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SecurityQuiet 8d · day 13

Florida financial aid breach exposes SSNs of up to 4.9 million people

The state's Department of Education says hackers accessed its student financial aid website, compromising Social Security numbers and other personal data.

newest coverage 8d agosummary written 10d ago8 pieces NewswiresMastodonReddit

What to know

  • Up to 4.9 million people who applied for Florida financial aid may have had Social Security numbers, names, addresses, phone numbers, emails and birthdates exposed.
  • FLDOE says current financial aid, tuition disbursements, scholarships, grants and student loans are not affected by the breach.
  • Florida Digital Service, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Attorney General's office are involved; the case is an ongoing criminal investigation.
  • The breach is the second major Florida government data breach in 2026, after a DMV hack whose stolen data has circulated on cybercriminal forums, and follows a similar California education department breach a week earlier.

Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) Agency whose site was breachedFlorida Digital Service State technology agencyFlorida Department of Law Enforcement State law enforcement agencyFlorida Office of the Attorney General State regulator notified of breach

Florida financial aid breach exposes SSNs of up to 4.9 million people
therecord.media

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 2 pieces in 3h at Oct 29, 2 PM; 8 pieces over 13 days (4 articles · 4 posts) Oct 29, 2 PM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Newswires 2Oct 29, 5 PM — quietOct 29, 8 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Oct 29, 11 PM — quietOct 30, 2 AM — quietOct 30, 5 AM — quietOct 30, 8 AM — quietOct 30, 11 AM — 2 pieces · 1 article · 1 post — Newswires 1, Reddit 1Oct 30, 2 PM — quietOct 30, 5 PM — quietOct 30, 8 PM — quietOct 30, 11 PM — quietOct 31, 2 AM — quietOct 31, 5 AM — quietOct 31, 8 AM — quietOct 31, 11 AM — quietOct 31, 2 PM — quietOct 31, 5 PM — quietOct 31, 8 PM — quietOct 31, 11 PM — quietNov 1, 1 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Nov 1, 4 AM — quietNov 1, 7 AM — quietNov 1, 10 AM — quietNov 1, 1 PM — quietNov 1, 4 PM — quietNov 1, 7 PM — quietNov 1, 10 PM — quietNov 2, 1 AM — quietNov 2, 4 AM — quietNov 2, 7 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Nov 2, 10 AM — quietNov 2, 1 PM — quietNov 2, 4 PM — quietNov 2, 7 PM — quietNov 2, 10 PM — quietNov 3, 1 AM — quietNov 3, 4 AM — quietNov 3, 7 AM — quietNov 3, 10 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Nov 3, 1 PM — quietNov 3, 4 PM — quietNov 3, 7 PM — quietNov 3, 10 PM — quietNov 4, 1 AM — quietNov 4, 4 AM — quietNov 4, 7 AM — quietNov 4, 10 AM — quietNov 4, 1 PM — quietNov 4, 4 PM — quietNov 4, 7 PM — quietNov 4, 10 PM — quietNov 5, 1 AM — quietNov 5, 4 AM — quietNov 5, 7 AM — quietNov 5, 10 AM — quietNov 5, 1 PM — quietNov 5, 4 PM — quietNov 5, 7 PM — quietNov 5, 10 PM — quietNov 6, 1 AM — quietNov 6, 4 AM — quietNov 6, 7 AM — quietNov 6, 10 AM — quietNov 6, 1 PM — quietNov 6, 4 PM — quietNov 6, 7 PM — quietNov 6, 10 PM — quietNov 7, 1 AM — quietNov 7, 4 AM — quietNov 7, 7 AM — quietNov 7, 10 AM — quietNov 7, 1 PM — quietNov 7, 4 PM — quietNov 7, 7 PM — quietNov 7, 10 PM — quietNov 8, 1 AM — quietNov 8, 4 AM — quietNov 8, 7 AM — quietNov 8, 10 AM — quietNov 8, 1 PM — quietNov 8, 4 PM — quietNov 8, 7 PM — quietNov 8, 10 PM — quietNov 9, 1 AM — quietNov 9, 4 AM — quietNov 9, 7 AM — quietNov 9, 10 AM — quietNov 9, 1 PM — quietNov 9, 4 PM — quietNov 9, 7 PM — quietNov 9, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 1 AM — quietToday, 4 AM — quietToday, 7 AM — quietToday, 10 AM — quietToday, 1 PM — quietToday, 4 PM — quietToday, 7 PM — quiet 12
Oct 30Oct 31Nov 1Nov 2Nov 3Nov 4Nov 5Nov 6Nov 7Nov 8Nov 9yesterdaynow · 9:51 PM ET
  1. 2

    Breach follows California school data hack and Florida DMV hack

    Coverage noted the FLDOE breach comes a week after California's education department reported a breach affecting public school children, and is the second major Florida government breach this year after a DMV hack whose stolen data has been sold on criminal forums throughout October.

    “An unauthorized party gained access to a system or database containing company or customer information,…”
    — Florida Department of Education, State agency statement · source
    1. 1 outlet Florida warns that 4.9 million people had Social Security numbers leaked in financial aid site breach

      first by The Record, 12d ago

  2. background

    Department details exposed data: SSNs, birthdates, addresses — The Record reported that exposed information includes names, addresses, phone numbers, genders, email addresses, Social Security numbers and dates of birth, and that FLDOE says the breach is contained and was reported to the Attorney General.

  3. 1

    FLDOE discloses breach, says up to 4.9 million affected

    The department publicly reported the hack of the state's student financial aid portal and, in a same-day update, said the incident may have impacted approximately 4.9 million individuals.

    “may have impacted approximately 4.9 million individuals.”
    — Florida Department of Education
    1. 1 outlet Up to 4.9 million affected in hack of Florida’s student scholarship website

      first by Orlando Sentinel, 13d ago

      1 more headline
    • douglevin@infosec.exchange

      "Florida Education Department reports data breach after unauthorized access to financial aid systems" May have impacted about 4.9 million individuals. Information that may have been exposed includes Social Security numbers, first and last names, dates of birth, home addresses, phone numbers including mobile numbers, email addresses and gender…

      douglevin@infosec.exchangeMastodon12d agoview on Mastodon ↗
  4. background

    Hackers gain unauthorized access to Florida's financial aid website — FLDOE says it became aware of unauthorized criminal access to FloridaStudentFinancialAidSG.org, activated cybersecurity response protocols and worked to contain the incident.