Ed-Tech · Ed-tech (K-12 assessment and student data) · Regulatory action + Data breach
Illuminate Education
Headline
The FTC finalized an order against Illuminate Education on June 5, 2026 (Docket C-4833), settling allegations that its weak security led to a breach of 10.1 million students' data…
Not independently verified. Verification status: Unverified - heuristic first draft. Publish state: draft unverified.
The FTC finalized an order against Illuminate Education on June 5, 2026 (Docket C-4833), settling allegations that its weak security led to a breach of 10.1 million students' data: email and mailing addresses, dates of birth, student records and health-related information. The FTC alleges a hacker used a former employee's credentials in December 2021, the data sat in plain text, Illuminate had been warned about the vulnerabilities by a vendor almost two years earlier, and some districts covering 380,000+ students were not told for nearly two years. VERIFIED: the 2025 proposed order and the 2026 final order both exist on ftc.gov. The order requires Illuminate to delete data it doesn't need and publish a retention schedule, which is the FTC's data-minimization approach applied to a school vendor.
- Severity
- Evidence tierUnassigned
- Claims confirmed
- Last verified2026-10-16
Primary source. www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/06/ftc-gives-final-approval-order-against-illuminate-settling-allegations-it-failed-secure-students — Unverified - heuristic first draft.
Terms
Arbitration
Not verified this pass
Data sharing
CONFIRMED BREACH (Dec. 2021, per FTC complaint allegations): 10.1M students; emails, mailing addresses, DOB, student records, health-related information; data stored in plain text until at least Jan. 2022.
Fees and billing
None identified (district-paid).
Contacts
Privacy contact. Not recorded.
Legal notice. Not verified this pass. Private company: the Secretary of State business-entity search in the state of incorporation gives the registered agent, which must accept service.
Mailing address. Not recorded.
Evidence
No claims have been itemized for this row yet.
Sources
| Source | Claim | Tier | Status | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTC press release · 2026-06-05 www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/06/ftc-gives-final-approval-order-against-illuminate-settling-allegations-it-failed-secure-students | whole row | Unassigned | confirmed | “voted 2-0 to finalize the order and send responses to the three commenters” Quote basis: not recorded. |
| FTC case page · 2026-06-05 www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/222-3105-illuminate-education-inc-matter | whole row | Unassigned | confirmed | “Under Order” Quote basis: not recorded. |
| Law-firm blog · 2025-12-05 www.hunton.com/privacy-and-information-security-law/ftc-reaches-settlement-with-ed-tech-provider-over-breach-of-student-data | whole row | Unassigned | confirmed | “comprising more than 380,000 students” Quote basis: not recorded. |
Source vault
Link status: Candidate - not yet fetched
| Document | Last fetch | |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy policy No URL recorded | Not fetched yet | NOT CONFIRMED |
| Terms of service No URL recorded | Not fetched yet | NOT CONFIRMED |
| Website No URL recorded | Not fetched yet | — |
| Primary source https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/06/ftc-gives-final-approval-order-against-illuminate-settling-allegations-it-failed-secure-students Verification: Unverified - heuristic first draft | Not fetched yet | — |
Enforcement
| Action | Amount | Link |
|---|---|---|
| In re Illuminate Education, Inc. Federal Trade Commission, 2026 FTC Matter No. 222-3105 (proposed consent Dec. 1, 2025; final approval June 5, 2026). | — | proposed |
Links are proposed matches, not yet reviewed.
State statute
No comprehensive state privacy statute on file for WI