Puget Sound Educational Service District (“PSESD”) is providing notice of a data privacy incident that may impact the privacy of personal information for certain current and former students and employees of King and Pierce County schools.

PSESD first learned of unusual activity on its computer network on or about July 25, 2020. Since discovering the activity, PSESD took portions of its network offline and commenced an investigation into the event that included working with third-party computer forensic specialists to determine the nature and scope of the event. During the course of the investigation, PSESD learned that certain employee email accounts were accessed by unauthorized individual(s) on separate occasions between April 5, 2020 and August 6, 2020. The investigation found no evidence of specific access to the contents of emails within the impacted email accounts, but could not rule it out. Accordingly, as a precaution, PSESD conducted an extensive review of all messages and documents to determine what information was potentially accessible and to whom the information related. PSESD confirmed on December 23, 2020 that the types of personal information relating to employees and/or students potentially impacted included their name, date of birth, Social Security number, financial account information, and high-level medical information.

PSESD takes this incident and the security of personal information entrusted in its care very seriously. Upon discovery of the unusual activity, PSESD immediately took portions of its network offline and commenced an investigation that included working with computer forensic specialists to understand the nature and scope of the event. While PSESD has received no reports that any accessible information was subject to actual or attempted misuse, it is providing potentially impacted individuals notice of the event and resources you may take advantage of, should you feel it appropriate to do so. PSESD also continues to evaluate ways to improve its existing protections to secure the information within its network.

PSESD encourages affected individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review their account statements, medical bills, explanation of benefits (EOBs), and credit reports for suspicious charges or claims. Under U.S. law, individuals are entitled to one (1) free credit report annually from each of the three (3) major credit reporting bureaus. To order a free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. Individuals may also contact the three major credit bureaus directly at: Equifax, P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA, 30348, 1-800-685-1111, www.equifax.com; Experian, P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013, 888-397-3742, www.experian.com; TransUnion, 2 Baldwin Place, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19022, 1-800-888-4213, www.transunion.com. Potentially affected individuals may also find information regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, security freezes and the steps they may take to protect their information by contacting the credit bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission or their state attorney general. The Federal Trade Commission can be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261.

Individuals seeking additional information regarding the event can visit the PSESD website at https://www.psesd.org/public-notice-requirement or by calling the dedicated assistance line at 1-800-223-0837, available Monday through Friday, from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Pacific Time.