The city’s struggling public school system recently received more bad news when it was revealed that a former Chicago Public Schools employee has been accused of stealing personal information on its 80,000 workers, volunteers and vendors. The former CPS contractor has been charged with felony white collar crimes said law enforcement officials.
The 28-year-old woman did administrative tasks for the school system’s Office of Safety and Security. She has been charged with four counts of aggravated computer tampering and three counts of identity theft, officials said.
As part of the order releasing her from custody, the judge ordered the suspect to stay off of the internet until the case has been resolved.
The data breach included names, employee identification numbers, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth and arrest records. A CPS spokesperson said no Social Security numbers were taken.
CPS Chief Operating Officer Arnie Rivera said, “There was no indication that the information, which was in the individual’s possession for approximately 24 hours, was used or disseminated to anyone in any way.”
A Chicago Police Department spokesperson said officials believe the suspect deleted the files from the CPS system after making a copy for herself.
An Assistant State’s Attorney said the former CPS worker was fired for performance issues prior to the alleged data theft. From a remote location, she then allegedly used access to the Board of Education’s database to retrieve the files.
Those facing similar charges of computer or internet crimes should sit down and talk over their options with a criminal defense attorney experienced in protecting freedom and rights.
