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Cyber security experts warn parents to stay vigilant after MPS' 'encryption event'

"It's extremely frustrating and sad that anyone would attack a public school system," said Minneapolis Public Schools parent Krista Kelly.

MINNEAPOLIS — After Minneapolis Public Schools said a group took responsibility for the "encryption event" and posted data accessed from the district online, cyber security experts are encouraging parents to be vigilant. 

Bryce Austin is a cyber security expert and a CEO for TCE Strategy based in the Twin Cities. 

"I've seen enough to know that they do have a copy of significant amounts of personal data," said Austin. "That's not surprising. That's almost to be expected."

Austin said this isn't a "sky is falling" moment, but said families should do a number of things. 

"I strongly consider freezing your credit and the credit of your children," he said. "One of the things that a cybercriminal can do if they have your name, your address, your date of birth, your social security number, is to try to take out a credit card or some other line of credit in your name."

He said parents should consider putting a fraud alert on any bank accounts or credit cards. If they want to take more precautions, they should consider changing any debit cards in the MPS system. 

He said at the very least, accounts should be monitored. 

He also said that health insurance needs to be monitored as well for children. 

Both MPS and Austin stress the importance of changing any passwords associated with the district, and if there are any other accounts using that same password, those should be changed as well. 

"Don't just add a one or an exclamation point at the end," he said. 

Krista Kelly has a daughter who goes to Lake Harriet Lower Elementary School and is keeping an eye on her bank accounts. 

"I'm making sure that there's no suspicious activity," she said. "Also keeping my eye out for any phishing emails that might come through." 

She's glad the district alerted parents but says some are worried about safety.

"It's extremely frustrating and sad that anyone would attack a public school system," said Kelly. "But unfortunately, I think it's just the reality of the world that we live in."

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