Tag Archive for: chicago

Ransomware attack exposes data of 500,000 Chicago students

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School system ransomware attack

The Chicago Public Schools has suffered a massive data breach that exposed the data of almost 500,000 students and 60,000 employee after their vendor, Battelle for Kids, suffered a ransomware attack in December.

Ohio-based Battelle for Kids is a not-for-profit educational organization that analyzes student data shared by public school systems to design instructional models and evaluate teacher performance.

Battelle for Kid says they work with 267 school systems, and its programs have reached over 2.8 million students.

Massive data breach for Chicago Public Schools

Yesterday, the Chicago Public School (CPS) district disclosed that a December 1st ransomware attack on Battelle for Kids exposed the stored data of 495,448 students and 56,138 employees in its school system.

According to a CPS, the school system partners with Battelle for Kids to upload student course information and assessment data for teacher evaluations.

CPS says that the data stored on Battelle for Kids’ servers was for school years 2015 through 2019 and exposed students’ personal information and assessment scores.

“Specifically, an unauthorized party gained access to your child’s name, date of birth, gender, grade level, school, Chicago Public Schools student ID number, State Student ID number, information about the courses your student took, and scores from performance tasks used for teacher evaluations during school years 2015-2016, 2016-2017, 2017-2018 and/or 2018-2019,” explains the CPS student data breach notification.

For staff, the threat actors potentially accessed their name, school, employee ID number, CPS email address, and Battelle for Kids username during school years 2015-2016, 2016-2017, 2017-2018 and/or 2018-2019.

CPS says that no Social Security Numbers, home addresses, health data, or financial information was exposed in the attack.

CPS is providing free credit monitoring, and identity theft protection to any students or staff members impacted. Instructions on how to access this free credit reporting can be found on the CPS data breach page created by the school system.

Over four months to disclose breach

In April, Ohio school districts began issuing data breach notifications warning…

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Old Town Residents Share Safety Concerns After ‘Unpermitted’ Gathering at North Ave. Beach – NBC Chicago

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One day after a large event occurred at North Avenue Beach and exiting partygoers caused disturbances in surrounding neighborhoods, residents convened to discuss concerns about the recent incident and other ongoing issues.

Wednesday’s “unpermitted” gathering on the North Side attracted more than 400 people to the lakeshore, mostly teens and young adults, according to 43 Ward Ald. Michelle Smith’s office.

On Thursday, residents made their way into a previously scheduled crime meeting in Old Town where they brought up the recent chaos, but also expressed worries about even more potential problems as the weather gets warmer.

“We’re in the beginning of summer, this is going to be happening more and more,” said resident Joe Jacobazzi. “…Want to hear what their plan is going forward in the future and how these things are going to be addressed.”

The same night as the mayhem at North Avenue Beach, police observed gatherings at local gas stations and businesses in Old Town and Lincoln Park.

“It’s just crazy chaotic, I was shocked,” said one gas station clerk. “That’s about it. I was shocked. Scared, not really, just very much shocked.”

Smith, the local alderperson, reassured residents that police had a plan in place and she was satisfied with the response and thankful no one was hurt.

“This was an event that could have gone wrong, and our police didn’t let it go wrong,” Smith said. “I’m so grateful for what happened.”

However, videos posted to social media showed a crowd that appeared to be out of control.

“I saw the disturbance last night, and it just seemed like the police, as usual, are just reactive and not proactive,” Jacobazzi said.

Authorities learned of the event in advance, and placed additional officers at entrance points to the beach, allowing them to search attendees for alcohol and drugs, Smith said.

Even still, attendees climbed on lifeguard towers and CTA buses, and police moved to break up the event in the late evening hours.

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Bears Second-Round Draft Pick Jaquan Brisker ‘Chess Piece’ at Safety – NBC Chicago

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Bears view Jaquan Brisker as ‘chess piece’ in secondary originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

Not many people predicted that the Bears would select a safety with one of their two second round picks on Thursday, but when Jaquan Brisker was available at No. 48, Ryan Poles couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Poles commended Brisker’s on-field ability, and off-field intangibles that make him the exact type of player the team is trying to target as they reshape the organization.

“Really everything that you’ve heard myself and Matt (Eberflus) talk about the last few months, he has that in him,” Poles said.

Bears scout Chris Prescott went into a bit more depth when describing the traits the team liked when evaluating Brisker.

“You’re talking about a big guy that ‘s physical,” Prescott said. “You know we like his toughness, we like his ball skills. I actually saw him plav vs. Maryland, I think he had a pick in that game and a PBU in that game. A guy that I think has got speed, range, ball skills plus he brings the physical side of the game that we like. Obviously with Flus and his defense, obviously wanting to be a physical team, he also brings that aspect of it too.”

But one of the biggest draws for the Bears is Brisker’s versatility. It’s something that came up with all three of the team’s picks on Friday. Kyler Gordon can play inside or outside corner. The team envisions Velus Jones as a swiss army knife on offense, and an impactful contributor on special teams. And Brisker has the ability to move all over the field at safety. According to PFF, Brisker has taken 668 snaps lined up deep, 690 snaps in the box and 332 snaps in the slot, over the past three seasons.

“He’s kind of a good chess piece I guess you would say,” Prescott said. “A lot of moving parts. You can play him close to the line of scrimmage and he can come up and he can play the run. He can fit in there and then he can also revert and flip him back, because he’s got enough speed and range and good enough eyes to where you can go locate the ball and play the ball well on the back end.”

By moving Brisker back and forth, defensive coordinator Alan Williams can try…

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As Violent CTA Attacks Continue, Unarmed Security Guards, Martial Artists to Patrol Red Line Trains – NBC Chicago

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In hopes of combating a string of violent attacks on CTA trains and platforms over the past several months, teams of unarmed security guards and people trained in martial arts will ride the Red Line for an eight-hour shift Friday to be on the lookout for crime.

The effort however is not led by the city of Chicago, or Chicago Police. Instead, community activist Tio Hardiman is leading the charge.

“We want to be proactive and preemptive. We don’t want things to get bad before we do something, things are already getting bad,” Hardiman said. “Put yourself in the the shoes of some working-class person, getting up to go to work and someone gets up in your face on the train.”

Hardiman says he has called on Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Chicago Police Department to collaborate with volunteer patrols and work with him to identify train lines and problem time periods to continue the eight-hour shifts on an ongoing basis.

Who Will Patrol the CTA Friday, And on Which Trains?

Hardiman’s plan is to have 10 unarmed, volunteer security guards specifically for Red Line trains — 5 on northbound trains to Howard, and 5 on southbound trains to 95th Street.

Hardiman says the volunteers will wear a specific logo to be identifiable, and will ride the Red Line for an eight-hour shift beginning at 11 a.m. Friday.

Who are the Unarmed Volunteers?

Hardiman said his volunteers won’t have weapons, but most are veterans and have martial arts skills.

They also have been trained to act as “violence interrupters” to deescalate situations, and also will be able to direct those with substance abuse problems or people who are homeless to community resources.

Andre “Tank” Hart, a former Marine whose 300 Elite Protection security firm will provide officers for Friday’s patrols, said his officers will not be armed but many are military veterans and champions in martial arts such as jiujitsu and judo.

Volunteers from God’s Gorillas, a South Side nonprofit organization, also will ride along.

Has CTA Increased Their Own Security?

Crime says it has increased on trains and platforms during the pandemic, and earlier this month CTA said it has added more…

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