Forsyth County Schools responded to an “alleged hacking” attempt in an email to parents and guardians of Lambert and South Forsyth High schools and Alliance Academy students Tuesday, Feb. 16.

Rumors of a hacking attempt on the district spread among students Tuesday morning as some said they received a message through ItsLearning which contained a link to a document that alleged the “hacker” had access to students' private information such as Social Security numbers.

FCS Spokeswoman Jennifer Caracciolo said the incident was not a hack, but district leaders were warned of a phishing campaign targeting school staff members Tuesday morning. The campaign impacted nine out of the district’s 6,500 staff members.

School officials later found that the student responsible for the phishing campaign had “accessed his record and the record of a close friend to change their grades,” Caracciolo said. She said this was the only information the student accessed.

“He didn’t see anyone’s information, including Social Security numbers, of any staff or students,” Caracciolo said. “He just saw his information and then his friend’s information.”

Just in case a student happened to click on the link sent in the message through ItsLearning on Tuesday, the email FCS sent to parents and guardians noted that there is nothing malicious in the link.

“The protection of student and staff data is a high priority for FCS,” the email states. “The school district will pursue the appropriate disciplinary consequences for this student and will continue to investigate this incident further with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.”