A potential data breach that could've cost the Thomas County School District $2 million has been foiled.
The district says someone tried to steal more than $2 million from its payroll account.
On Feb. 7, the district says would be hackers were able to gain access to computer files with accounting and payroll information. The goal was to wire-transfer money from the school's account to theirs.
Even though the hackers did not obtain any money, they did gain access to payroll records which include the names, employee identification numbers, bank account numbers, and bank routing numbers for school district employees.
At this time, investigators do not believe that the hackers gained access to Social Security numbers or passwords to individual employee accounts.
The school system is now working with the IT investigation and security firm Blue Voyant and has increased its cybersecurity.
Thomas County School System employees have been advised to carefully monitor their accounts and to immediately report to their banks any fraudulent withdrawals or other suspicious activity on their accounts. Employees have also been warned to change their passwords on district computers and to be mindful of any suspicious emails.
“The Thomas County School District values its employees and respects the privacy of their personal information. Protecting the security of our employees’ personal information is a top priority for the district," Thomas County School Superintendent Dr. Lisa Williams stated.
