Overview
The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) says attackers breached the Florida Student Financial Aid website, the state's hub for scholarship and grant programs. Personal information belonging to about 4.9 million people may have been exposed.
FLDOE discovered the intrusion on October 19 and says it has since been contained. SecurityWeek reported the incident on November 2, 2026.
Data Potentially Exposed
- Names
- Social Security numbers
- Dates of birth
- Home addresses
- Phone numbers
- Email addresses
- Gender codes
FLDOE stresses that not everyone was necessarily affected and that the exposed fields vary by person. Anyone who has applied for Florida state financial aid in the past could be in scope.
Response and Unknowns
FLDOE launched its incident response procedures, with the Florida Digital Service and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement assisting. Some FLDOE websites and online services may be disrupted while remediation continues.
Not yet disclosed:
- How the attackers gained access
- Who is responsible (no group has publicly claimed the attack)
FLDOE says existing aid is safe: disbursements, tuition payments, and eligibility for scholarships, grants, and loans are not affected.
Related Incident
In September, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles confirmed unauthorized access to its driver database. The ShinyHunters extortion group claimed more than 200,000 driver records. The agency traced that intrusion to compromised credentials of a local police department user.
Recommended Actions
FLDOE publishes updates at fldoe.org/databreach.stml. Anyone who has applied for Florida financial aid should:
- Monitor financial accounts and credit reports
- Consider a credit freeze if their SSN may have been exposed
- Treat unsolicited emails, texts, or calls that mention financial aid with suspicion