School Board Approves Identity Theft Insurance Protection for District Employees After Data Theft

BRADENTON – Following an email 'phishing' incident on Jan. 26, in which district employees' tax information was sent to a scammer, the Manatee School Board moved at Tuesday's meeting to approve the identity theft insurance to protect the victimized employees.

In a story reported by The Bradenton Herald on Feb. 7, Superintendent of Operations Ron Ciranna advised that a Pay Roll employee of the district unwittingly submitted electronic copies of about 7,700 district employees' tax forms to a person falsely claiming to be Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene.

The AllClear I.D. program, which will cost the district $78,816.88, provides employees with access to identity protection, identity repair and credit monitoring services for two years. The program took effect on Feb. 10.

The cyberattack was the latest in a series of phishing schemes that have the private information of other organizations in the U.S., including other school districts. After the attack was realized, the school district notified the FBI, IRS and other relevant agencies of the breach.

At the end of the board meeting, Dr. Greene repeated that she, the school board and district administration, have taken the situation and the fears of district employees with seriousness and have spent much time working to remedy the situation. She said she understood upset email letters that she and others have since received regarding the incident. "This hasn't gone to deaf ears. Whatever you're saying in that email, I've probably said it myself a dozen times."

"I am sorry that our W2's were stolen," said Greene. "I truly am. But I can't stay in that place. I just need to let our employees know that we're going to do everything that we possibly can (to prevent such theft from occurring again), if we have to send out emails every week to ensure that all employees are covered." She also thanked employees for staying with the district instead of leaving it over the breach.

Ciranna, who spoke after the meeting, said the district is emphasizing to its employees patience and not being rash with emails. "Slow down, think before you react, instead of a knee jerk reaction. Talk to other people; talk to the superintendent," he said. "We want to empower them a little bit."