The Governor's Office of Administration Friday announced a security incident may have potentially compromised personal information of professional school staff in the Teacher Information Management System (TIMS).
“We are acting swiftly to notify stakeholders about what happened and contact individuals whose information may be affected.” said Secretary of Administration Sharon Minnich. “In the meantime, TIMS will remain offline until we are confident that the issue is resolved and that the system can be brought back online safely.”
“The Department of Education is committed to full transparency and ensuring the safety of all Pennsylvania educators,” said Secretary of Education Pedro A. Rivera. “We thank our stakeholders for their patience as we work with the Office of Administration to remedy the situation.”
The incident occurred between 12:00 and 12:30 p.m. on February 22.
The exposure was the result of human error by an employee in the Office of Administration; no hacking occurred. During the time period of the exposure, users who logged into TIMS would have been able to view personal information about other current and former teachers.
PDE and OA are currently investigating the scope of the potential compromise. The agencies will mail letters to affected individuals offering free credit monitoring services.
Additionally, PDE and OA will review their internal procedures and implement changes to prevent similar incidents in the future.
