IMPORTANT CYBERSECURITY UPDATES: DATA PRIVACY AND RECENT SCAM ALERTS
Edgecombe County Public Schools
May 7, 2026
Edgecombe County Public Schools (ECPS) is committed to transparency and proactive communication regarding the security of our student and staff data. While several school districts across North Carolina are currently responding to a recent cybersecurity incident involving a third-party vendor, we want to provide our community with the most current information regarding our district’s status.
1. Instructure (Canvas) Cybersecurity Incident
We are aware of a cybersecurity incident involving Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, which is a learning management system used by many North Carolina Public Schools.
Please be advised that Edgecombe County Public Schools does not use Canvas. Because our district does not utilize this platform, we have not been contacted regarding any impact, and we do not anticipate our student or staff data being involved in this specific breach.
We are, however, continuing to monitor the situation through the NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) to ensure that any interconnected state systems remain secure. According to the NC State Superintendent, preliminary findings regarding affected districts suggest that compromised data may include names, but there is currently no evidence that passwords, dates of birth, or financial information were involved.
For more information directly from Instructure (Canvas) and North Carolina’s Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) on this matter, please use the following links:
NCDPI’s communication (May 6, 2026)
2. Alert: ACT and Testing-Related Scams
In an unrelated matter, we want to alert our parents to a growing "social engineering" campaign targeting families. Individuals posing as representatives from The ACT, WIDA/ACCESS, or affiliated test-prep companies are contacting parents via phone, email, and SMS to request payments for test-related materials or prep services.
To protect your family, please be aware of the following:
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No Payments Required: Under no circumstances will the NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) or ECPS ask for payment over the phone or via email for these state-mandated tests.
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Third-Party Sales: The ACT does not use telephone or email campaigns to sell third-party test prep resources.
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Information Used: Scammers may already know a student’s name, address, or grade level (often obtained from public directories) to make the call seem legitimate.
Common Signs of a Scam:
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A high sense of urgency or pressure to pay immediately.
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Unexpected requests for credit card or banking information.
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Suspicious links or attachments in follow-up emails or texts.
Moving Forward
We take the security of our students and educators with the utmost seriousness. We are working closely with the NCDPI K-12 Cybersecurity Team to monitor these and other potential threats.
What you can do:
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Stay Vigilant: If a communication regarding a digital platform or testing "feels off," it likely is.
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Verify: If you receive a suspicious call or email regarding testing, please contact the testing coordinator at your child's school to verify its legitimacy before taking any action or providing information.
We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available. Thank you for your continued partnership in keeping our school community safe.