Fired Chicago Schools Employee Causes Data Breach

Police allege that a fired Chicago Public Schools employee took a personal database of about 70,000 people contained in a CPS private database with her.

According to CBS Chicago, the 28-year old employee – Kristi Sims – was a temporary worker in the CPS information center who may have stolen the data in retaliation for being fired. After she was fired, she allegedly copied then deleted a database with information on CPS employees, volunteers and others – information that police describe as “sensitive.”

CPS has contacted the people affected by the data breach, which involved the theft of names, employee ID numbers, phone numbers, addresses, birth dates, criminal histories, and any records associating individuals with the Department of Children and Family services. The CPS email adds that “There is no indication the information, which was in the individual’s possession for approximately 24 hours, was used or disseminated by anyone in any way.”

Sims was arrested and charged with one felony count of aggravated computer tampering/disrupting service and four counts of identity theft.

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