BLAIR COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — The Altoona Area School District (AASD) has provided more information from its investigation of the data security incident that occurred in December.

AASD said a data security incident disrupted access to certain systems Dec. 2, according to a press release from the school. As a result, AASD launched an investigation with the assistance of cybersecurity experts to determine what happened and whether sensitive information may have been affected.

The investigation revealed that certain personal or health information may have been accessed or acquired without authorization during the incident.

On March 14, AASD said it completed a comprehensive review that identified certain individuals that were potentially affected and took steps to notify them. The information included names, dates of birth, contact information, Social Security numbers, insurance information, and – in a limited number of instances – medical treatment or diagnostic information.

AASD emphasized it does not store any personal credit card information or student Social Security numbers on any district server.

Individuals who are insured through AASD have been issued new insurance numbers and will be receiving new insurance cards.

AASD takes the security of sensitive information very seriously and has implemented additional security features to help prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future. AASD has also reported this matter to the FBI and will fully cooperate with any investigation related to this incident.

Altoona Area School District

Notification letters were sent to the potentially-affected individuals on April 1. It included information on the incident as well as steps those individuals can take to monitor and help protect their personal information.

AASD said it has established a toll-free call center to answer questions about the incident and related concerns. It can be reached at 1-833-648-2053 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. If you did not receive a letter and would like to know if your information was involved, the school encourages you to call the center.

“The privacy and protection of private information is a top priority for AASD,” the school said. “AASD deeply regrets any inconvenience or concern this incident may cause.”