Father says teen, other students had info hacked at GTA school

When Kirk Tobias’ daughter logged onto her school’s student portal one morning last month, she was greeted by an ominous note.

Under the image of a leering face was a list containing her address, telephone numbers and school-related log-in details, accompanied by a threat of further contact from what appeared to be an anonymous hacker, the father of the 16-yearold said.

The frightened teen informed her parents, who promptly reported the matter to her high school in Markham, Ont.

The institution called police — who confirmed a database hack — but Tobias said the school’s board only learned of the incident when he called its privacy officer.

Tobias said the episode had left his family shaken.

“To say that she was completely freaked out was a gross understatement,” Tobias said of his daughter, adding he and his wife were equally unnerved by the widespread breach.

Police said they determined that one of the teen’s classmates had hacked into the school’s database and retrieved personal details for the entire student body of about 1,500 people.

Markham District High School’s staff declined to comment on the situation, referring inquiries to the board.

Board associate director Karen Friedman issued a statement confirming that a breach of student information had taken place in early November, that student passwords had been changed in response to the incident, and that the board had co-operated with the police investigation into the matter.