What to Do After the McGraw Hill Data Breach

In April 2026, education publishing giant McGraw Hill confirmed a data breach that exposed over 13.5 million unique email addresses along with names, phone numbers, and physical addresses. The breach was traced to a Salesforce misconfiguration exploited by the notorious ShinyHunters hacking group. If you have ever used McGraw Hill educational products, textbooks, or online learning platforms, your data may be at risk.

What Happened in the McGraw Hill Breach?

McGraw Hill disclosed the breach on April 14, 2026, after the ShinyHunters extortion group added the company to its dark web leak site. The attackers exploited a misconfiguration in a Salesforce-hosted webpage to access a dataset that McGraw Hill initially characterized as "limited."

However, the reality proved far worse. More than 100 GB of data was publicly distributed, containing 13.5 million unique email addresses across multiple files. The ShinyHunters group had threatened to expose the data unless McGraw Hill paid a ransom — a demand the company apparently did not meet.

What Information Was Exposed?

According to McGraw Hill's disclosures and analysis by cybersecurity researchers, the breach exposed:

• Email addresses — 13.5 million unique addresses
• Full names
• Phone numbers (appearing in some records)
• Physical addresses (appearing in some records)

McGraw Hill stated that more sensitive data — including Social Security numbers, financial information, and student academic records — was not included in the breach. However, the combination of names, emails, phone numbers, and addresses is still highly valuable to scammers and identity thieves.

How to Check if You Were Affected

1. Check Have I Been Pwned: Visit haveibeenpwned.com and enter every email address you use. The McGraw Hill breach has been added to the database, and it will tell you if your email appeared in the leaked data.
2. Check your email: McGraw Hill may send notification emails to affected users. Look for communications from McGraw Hill in your inbox, spam, and promotions folders.
3. Think about your history: If you have ever created an account on a McGraw Hill platform, used their online textbooks (like Connect or ALEKS), or interacted with their educational products as a student, teacher, or administrator, your data may be included.

Steps to Protect Yourself Right Now

1. Change Your Passwords

If you used the same password on your McGraw Hill account as on other accounts, change those passwords immediately. Use a unique, strong password for every account. A password manager can help you create and store complex passwords without the burden of remembering them all.

2. Enable Two-Factor Authentication

Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) on your email accounts, bank accounts, and any other important services. This adds a second layer of protection even if your password is compromised. Use an authenticator app rather than SMS when possible.

3. Watch for Phishing Attacks

With your name and email address exposed, expect an increase in phishing attempts. Be especially cautious of:

• Emails claiming to be from McGraw Hill asking you to "verify your account"
• Messages about educational subscriptions, refunds, or account security
• Emails with urgent language pushing you to click links or download attachments

Always go directly to websites by typing the URL in your browser rather than clicking links in emails.

4. Monitor Your Accounts

Keep a close eye on your bank accounts, credit cards, and credit reports for any unusual activity. While financial data was reportedly not included in this breach, criminals often use personal details from one breach to access financial accounts through social engineering.

5. Consider a Credit Freeze

If your name, address, and phone number were exposed, placing a credit freeze at all three bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — prevents anyone from opening new credit accounts in your name. Credit freezes are free and can be temporarily lifted when you need to apply for credit.

6. Remove Your Information From Data Brokers

The personal details exposed in the McGraw Hill breach — names, addresses, phone numbers, and emails — are the same data points that people search sites and data brokers collect and sell. Removing your information from these sites reduces the amount of personal data available to anyone trying to target you.

The Bigger Picture: Cloud Misconfigurations Are a Growing Threat

The McGraw Hill breach was caused by a Salesforce misconfiguration, not a sophisticated hack. This is an increasingly common attack vector in 2026: companies store sensitive data on cloud platforms but fail to properly configure access controls. ShinyHunters has exploited similar misconfigurations at dozens of organizations this year alone.

As a consumer, you cannot control how companies secure your data. But you can minimize your exposure by using unique passwords, enabling 2FA, and regularly checking whether your information has been compromised.

How PrivacyOn Can Help

PrivacyOn helps protect you in the aftermath of data breaches like this one. Our service includes:

• Dark web monitoring that alerts you when your email, phone number, or other personal data appears in breach dumps or dark web marketplaces
• Data broker removal from 100+ people search sites that expose the same personal details leaked in breaches
• 24/7 monitoring with continuous scanning and automatic re-removal when your data reappears
• Family plans covering up to 5 people — important when children's educational data may also be at risk