The Clark County School District (“CCSD”) is providing notice of a recent incident that may affect the security of information pertaining to individuals, including certain current and former employees. The confidentiality, privacy, and security of information in CCSD’s care is one of its highest priorities and CCSD takes this incident very seriously. Although CCSD has not received any reports of actual or attempted misuse of the impacted information, CCSD is providing this notice in an abundance of caution.
On the morning of August 27, 2020, certain CCSD systems became infected with a virus that prohibited access to certain files. Upon discovery, CCSD immediately notified law enforcement and began an investigation, which included working with third-party forensic investigators, to determine the full nature and scope of the incident and to secure the CCSD network. While the investigation into this incident is ongoing, it was determined that CCSD was the victim of a criminal ransomware attack and is working to restore all systems to secure, full functionality.
While CCSD’s investigation is ongoing and has been unable to determine whether any specific file containing sensitive information was actually accessed or acquired by the unauthorized actor, CCSD’s investigation determined that certain current and former employee information may have been accessed or acquired by the unauthorized actor. Therefore, in an abundance of caution, CCSD is notifying individuals, including certain current and former employees, of this incident whose name and Social Security numbers were present in the affected systems at the time of the incident.
Currently, CCSD is working diligently to determine the full nature and scope of this incident and is cooperating with law enforcement’s investigation. Upon discovering this incident, CCSD immediately launched an investigation and took steps to secure its systems and determine what personal data was at risk. As part of CCSD’s ongoing commitment to the security of information in its care, CCSD will be reviewing existing policies and procedures and implementing additional safeguards. CCSD will also be individually notifying affected individuals as well as state and federal regulators, as required.
You may have questions about this incident that are not addressed in this letter. If you have additional questions and are impacted by this incident, please call CCSD’s dedicated assistance line at 888-490-0594 between the hours of 6:00am to 6:00pm Pacific Time, Monday to Friday. You may also write to CCSD at 4828 S. Pearl Street, Las Vegas NV 89121.
CCSD sincerely regrets any inconvenience this incident may have caused. CCSD encourages you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review your account statements, and to monitor your credit reports for suspicious activity. Under U.S. law you are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. You may also contact the three major credit bureaus directly to request a free copy of your credit report.
You have the right to place a “security freeze” on your credit report, which will prohibit a consumer reporting agency from releasing information in your credit report without your express authorization. The security freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name without your consent. However, you should be aware that using a security freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in your credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application you make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, you cannot be charged to place or lift a security freeze on your credit report. Should you wish to place a security freeze, please contact the major consumer reporting agencies listed below:
Experian P.O. Box 9554 Allen, TX 75013 1-888-397-3742 www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
TransUnion P.O. Box 160 Woodlyn, PA 19094 1-888-909-8872 www.transunion.com/credit-freeze
Equifax P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348-5788 1-800-685-1111 www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services
In order to request a security freeze, you will need to provide the following information:
As an alternative to a security freeze, you have the right to place an initial or extended “fraud alert” on your file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a 1-year alert that is placed on a consumer’s credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer’s credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer’s identity before extending new credit. If you are a victim of identity theft, you are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years. Should you wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any one of the agencies listed below:
Experian P.O. Box 9554 Allen, TX 75013 1-888-397-3742 www.experian.com/fraud/center.html
TransUnion P.O. Box 2000 Chester, PA 19016 1-800-680-7289 www.transunion.com/fraud-victim-resource/place-fraud-alert
Equifax P.O. Box 105069 Atlanta, GA 30348 1-888-766-0008 www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services
You can further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, security freezes, and the steps you can take to protect yourself by contacting the consumer reporting agencies, the Federal Trade Commission, or your 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); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. You can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. You have the right to file a police report if you ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, you will likely need to provide some proof that you have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and your state Attorney General. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.
