Penalty Amount
$5,100,000
New York, California, and Connecticut attorneys general reached a $5.1 million settlement with educational technology company Illuminate Education, Inc. for failing to protect student data, resulting in a 2022 breach exposing millions of students’ personal information. The investigation found Illuminate failed to implement basic security measures including data encryption, suspicious activity monitoring, and proper decommissioning of inactive user accounts, and did not delete student data when required by contracts. Illuminate must pay the penalty and implement enhanced data security measures including a comprehensive information security program, encryption of student data, and annual notice to schools about data collection and deletion options.
Illuminate must pay $5.1 million in penalties and costs, with New York receiving $1.7 million. The company is required to implement a comprehensive information security program including data encryption, access limitations, network monitoring for suspicious activity, and a vulnerability management program. Illuminate must also provide annual notices to schools identifying collected student data categories and allow schools to request deletion of dated or inactive student records.
In-house legal teams should review all edtech and student data vendor agreements to ensure they include mandatory data encryption requirements, provisions for decommissioning inactive user accounts, and obligations to monitor for suspicious network activity. Contracts should also specify student data retention and deletion timelines, require vendors to maintain comprehensive information security programs, and mandate vulnerability management processes. Additionally, agreements should require vendors to provide annual notices detailing collected student data categories and allow the institution to request deletion of inactive or outdated student records. Teams should also verify that vendors do not misrepresent their data security practices and are compliant with applicable state student data privacy laws.
Entity
Illuminate Education, Inc.
Also known as: Illuminate Education
Industry
TechnologyOfficial Press Release
https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2025/attorney-general-james-and-multistate-coalition-secure-51-million-education
illuminate education inc assurance of discontinuance 2025
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/settlements-agreements/illuminate-education-inc-assurance-of-discontinuance-2025.pdf
New York Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://ag.ny.gov/press-releases
"educational technology company Illuminate Education, Inc. (Illuminate)"
"secured $5.1 million from educational technology company Illuminate Education, Inc. (Illuminate)"
"November 6, 2025"
"Connecticut’s Student Data Privacy Law requires strict security to protect children’s information"
"California law imposes heightened obligations for companies to secure children’s’ information"
"In 2022, Illuminate experienced a data breach that exposed the personal information of millions of students"
The FTC proposed a consent order against Illuminate Education, Inc. for failing to secure student data, leading to a breach affecting over 10 million students. The company allegedly had security failures and delayed breach notifications. The order requires a data security program, data deletion, and a retention schedule.
$5.1M
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, along with California and New York Attorneys General, settled with Illuminate Education, Inc. for failing to protect student data in a breach that exposed personal information of millions of students. The settlement, the first under Connecticut's Student Data Privacy Law, requires Illuminate to pay $5.1 million and implement enhanced cybersecurity measures.
$5.1M
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, joined by Connecticut and New York Attorneys General, secured a $5.1 million multistate settlement with edtech company Illuminate Education, Inc. over a 2021 data breach that exposed sensitive personal and medical information of millions of students, including over 434,000 California students. The investigation found Illuminate failed to implement basic security measures, including failing to terminate former employee credentials, lacking suspicious activity monitoring, and unsecured backup databases, as well as making false statements in its privacy policy. Illuminate must pay $3.25 million to California, implement enhanced security practices, and notify the CA DOJ of future student data breaches.
New York Attorney General Letitia James obtained a temporary restraining order from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California blocking Paramount Skydance Corp.'s proposed $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. The lawsuit alleges the merger would illegally reduce competition in film and television, leading to higher prices and fewer choices for consumers.
$18.0M
New York Attorney General Letitia James and a bipartisan coalition of 42 other attorneys general secured an $18 million settlement from genetic testing company 23andMe for failing to protect customers' private genetic data. The October 2023 data breach exposed sensitive genetic information of 6.9 million consumers, including 305,245 in New York, with some data published for sale on the dark web. The settlement includes monetary penalties and new data protection requirements for the company and its successor, 23andMe Research Institute.
New York Attorney General Letitia James and 11 other attorneys general filed a lawsuit to block the proposed $110 billion merger between Paramount Skydance Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc., alleging the merger would violate antitrust law by reducing competition in theatrical film releases and basic cable television markets, leading to higher prices for consumers and fewer diverse entertainment options.