What to Know
- A NY school was set to welcome students back from summer vacation Wednesday, but a ransomware attack delayed the start of the school year
- The Monroe-Woodbury Central School District sent out an email to parents Tuesday night, saying they had experienced a “cyber security threat
- While a school district may sound like an strange cyber-attack target, it’s actually the fourth district in the tri-state to be victimized
A school in Orange County was all set to welcome students back from summer vacation on Wednesday, but a ransomware attack has delayed the start of the school year.
The Monroe-Woodbury Central School District sent out an email to parents Tuesday night, saying they had experienced a “cyber security threat” that impacted the district’s operations.
The school will hold an unplanned “Superintendent’s Conference Day” on Tuesday, and apologized to parents for the unforeseen and late change.
"We recognize that for our families this unexpected schedule change may be difficult,” the email to parents from Superintendent Elsie Rodriguez read. “The safety and security of our students is always our first priority and we believe this extra time will allow us to better prepare for a smooth first day for our students and staff.”
The district said that they although they do not know how long it will take to restore what was affected in the hack — mostly because they are still unsure of the full extent of the attack — they will still be welcoming students back on Thursday, Sept. 5.
All the district’s data is backed up on and off-site on daily basis, which Rodriguez wrote is part of their regular security protocols.
Local
While a school district may sound like an strange target for a cyber-attack, it’s actually the fourth district in the tri-state to be victimized. Earlier this summer, two Long Island school districts — Rockville Center and Mineola — were attacked by hackers who locked student and staff data and demanded ransom to release it. While the Mineola district refused, Rockville Center paid the $88,000 ransom.
In Connecticut, Wolcott schools also paid a ransom after a cyber-attack. It is unclear if hackers demanded ransom from the Monroe-Woodbury Central School District.
