Department Of Education Gets Hacked For 45k NYC Personal Records
Anuraag Sharma, the chief technology officer of the city’s Department of Education, has resigned shortly after a significant data breach compromised the sensitive information of thousands of students and staff members. According to sources, Sharma, who had been serving as the top tech chief since 2019 under both former Mayor Bill de Blasio and current Mayor Eric Adams, submitted his resignation recently.
Last month, DOE officials reported that approximately 45,000 students, along with school employees and service providers, were affected by the breach. The compromised data included social security numbers, dates of birth, employee IDs, and OSIS numbers of students attending city public schools. The breach involved the unauthorized access of around 19,000 documents from the file transfer system MOVEIt, with 9,000 social security numbers being stolen.
It’s worth noting that this is not the first time such a data breach has occurred in the city’s education system. In a previous incident, the personal data of 820,000 current and former city students was also compromised in a hack.
Sharma has had a long career with the city, having worked for nearly 20 years, including serving as chief information officer for the departments of design and construction, as well as youth and community development. Prior to that, he spent ten years with the Health Department, where he held the position of assistant commissioner for IT solutions and delivery.
Although some insiders have praised Sharma and claimed that his departure was voluntary and unrelated to the recent breach, he becomes the latest high-profile DOE official to leave the Adams administration. Others who have departed include the communications chief, Michael Vaughn, and the chief strategy officer, Savita Bharadwa.
Moreover, Desmond Blackburn, who was the deputy chancellor for leadership under Schools Chancellor David Banks, left the DOE in March after one year in his role. Notably, Banks had appointed Adams’ long-time girlfriend, Tracey Collins, as a “special advisor” to Blackburn, with a significant raise in salary.
In summary, Anuraag Sharma, the chief technology officer of the city’s Department of Education, has resigned following a data breach that compromised sensitive information, and his departure adds to a series of high-profile officials leaving the Adams administration.
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