01/11/2024

U.S. School Shooter Emergency Plans Exposed in a Highly Sensitive Database Leak

More than 4 million school records were also publicly accessible online

Every year, hundreds of millions of files, personal records, and documents are accidentally exposed online. Owners of dating apps, colossal marketing databases and even a spy agency have published information to the web by leaving it in unsecured databases. But the regularity with which these leaks happen doesn’t make them any less alarming—especially when the data is from thousands of schools.

Thousands of emergency planning documents from U.S. schools, including their safety procedures for active shooter emergencies, were leaked in a trove of more than 4 million records that were inadvertently made public. Last month, security researcher Jeremiah Fowler discovered 800 gigabytes of files and logs linked to school software provider Raptor Technologies. The firm provides software that allows schools to track student attendance, monitor visitors and manage emergency situations. Raptor says its software is used by more than 5,300 U.S. school districts and 60,000 schools around the world.

The highly sensitive cache of documents included evacuation plans, with maps showing the routes students should take and where they should gather during emergencies; details of students who pose a threat on campus; medical records; court documents relating to restraining orders and family abuse; and the names and ID numbers of staff, students and their parents or guardians.

Please select this link to read the complete article from WIRED.