The following letter and video was sent to Lexington-Richland School District Five Families and Staff today.
Greetings School District 5 Families and Staff:
As part of our ongoing effort to keep you informed, I have an important update on the progress of the investigation into our recent data security incident and information about actions we are taking as a result.
We have confirmed that information belonging to some individuals, whom we believe were former students from prior years, has been posted online in a forum used by threat actors. This information includes, among other things, names, date of birth, addresses and some Social Security Numbers. We are in the process of informing these specific individuals via mail and offering them credit monitoring and identity theft protection.
In addition, out of an abundance of caution, we are providing the same protection for all current district staff, though we do not have confirmation at this time that their information is at risk. We did not want to wait until our investigation was complete before offering them this important benefit.
The staff and former students can expect letters in the next two weeks, or sooner. The letters will include instructions and unique codes for their protection. It is necessary that we conduct a thorough and systematic investigation that comports with state law.
Our investigation is ongoing, and we will be notifying additional individuals on a rolling basis if we determine they were impacted by this incident. Until our investigation is complete, we are not able to comment or speculate accurately on individual claims about suspected data security issues. We must let our investigation run its course.
To support our effort, we are working closely with local, state, and federal authorities, as well as independent experts in this field. We will be hosting a virtual Town Hall on August 26, 2025, with a former FBI official to answer any questions our community may have. More information will be forthcoming about this event.
Finally, it has come to our attention that some non-directory information was obtained without consent. I want to offer our community guidance that includes steps you can take now to protect yourself and your families while our investigation continues. School District 5 encourages individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing their account statements and monitoring their credit reports for suspicious activity. Such suspicious activity should be promptly reported to relevant parties including banking and/or financial institutions. Additionally, our community members are advised to use multifactor authentication (“MFA”) on sensitive accounts, use strong passwords and change them regularly, and never click on suspicious emails.
Again, we apologize for any inconvenience. I know we will emerge a better and stronger school district from this experience.
Thank you very much for your attention, patience and support as we continue our work to LOVE and GROW our students.
Dr. Akil E. Ross, Sr.
Superintendent
