Huntsville, Alabama school officials have announced students are returning to class following a ransomware attack that was discovered last week, according to AL.com. They also have advised students not to use laptops and other school-issued devices for the time being.
Students who engage in traditional face-to-face schedules are returning to school in Huntsville today, AL.com indicated. Meanwhile, students in the system's virtual academy can retrieve assignment packets in-person today.
Cybercriminals launched a cyberattack to shut down Huntsville City School technology on November 30, WHNT reported. Huntsville City Schools spokesman Craig Williams confirmed ransomware was used in the attack.
Huntsville school officials are working with law enforcement to investigate the ransomware attack, WHNT stated. No details have been released about what information might have been compromised or the amount of the ransom request during the cyberattack.
Along with Huntsville City Schools, several other school districts recently have experienced cyberattacks, including:
- Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS): Hackers leveraged malware to attack BCPS, and the cyberattack forced BCPS to close on November 30 and December 1.
- Clark County School District (CCSD): Cybercriminals used ransomware to trigger a data breach involving Social Security numbers, student information and other private information from CCSD in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- Athens Independent School District (ISD): Athens ISD in Athens, Texas paid $50,000 to restore school district data after a ransomware attack against its servers.
MSSPs can provide cybersecurity tips and recommendations and security services to help school districts identify and mitigate cyberattacks. They also can help school districts develop and implement a layered cybersecurity strategy to keep pace with evolving cyber threats.
How MSPs Can Mitigate Ransomware Attack Risks: To safeguard your MSP business and clientele from ransomware attacks, follow this tip sheet.
